Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament
by MCGamemaster90
Summary: Sequel to "Rio: The Arena Tournament". One year later, blue and scarlet macaws have gathered once more for the fighting tournamenet, but this time, they are not alone. For the first time in amazon history, a battle royale will commence with five different clans in battle. Join Blu and his friends for the fight of their lives.
1. Battle royale begins!

_**Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament**_

 _ **Hiya one and all! It's your gal Carley here with another Rio story. Now if anyone followed me last year, you will know I wrote The Arena Tournament story exactly one year from today. My story lore stated that the tournment's were yearly so I thought "What better way than to post this one on the exact day of last year?". So if you haven't read that one, I would highly recommend doing so. But I got chapter 1 here and look forward to seeing some feedback!**_

* * *

The sun was shining, the weather was beautiful and clear, but most importantly, the crowds of birds were cheering like crazy, their cheers echoing throughout the amazon. It was their favourite time of the year: the tournaments held every year where the blue and scarlet macaw clans fought for sport (originally for power, but now they were friends). Due to the popularity of last year's match, not only were more people entering, but more importantly, it was no longer one-on-one matches.

This time, it was a battle royale.

The matches were about to begin. Best friends and co-workers porcupine and tapir stepped into their small alcove overlooking the pit, all while the crowds cheered.

"Welcome one and all to the sixth annual tournament games!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared.

The Tapir Game Announcer continued. "But more importantly, the first ever battle royale!"

The crowds cheers only increased as the games came close to beginning. The arena they fought in had now been altered, a five-foot stage built in height had been constructed for this year's games, making this fight all the more intense. Although it seemed silly when species who could fly were fighting, everyone had planned for this and were one step ahead.

In five different corners of the arena, the teams emerged and were ready to fight. Blue and scarlet macaw clans had returned as usual, but this time they were joined by the stern military macaw clan, the cheerful lear macaw clan and the intelligent red-bellied macaw clan. Each team consisted of five members, some apart of the same species while others from the other types of birds. This was allowed so long as there was at least one original member in the team.

"Wow, big crowd," Blu noted as he examined their opponents. "They look tough."

"Don't feel intimidated, Blu," Eduardo said and pattered his back. "You'll be fine."

The Porcupine Game Announcer spotted a familiar face entering the centre of the stage. "And it looks like our coach is moving towards the centre of the arena to speak."

The brown peregrine falcon couch leaped onto the middle of the arena, waving towards the various spectators. After they settled, he made his speech. "Ladies and gentle birds, welcome to this years first battle royale! Please welcome all of our contestants!"

Eduardo inhaled a deep breath to calm his nerves before he shared a hug with his daughter. "Be safe out there, honey."

"I'll be fine, daddy," Jewel assured. "It's not my first time in a fight. Besides, I learned from the best."

"I'll take care of her, sir," Blu promised.

Eduardo could not avoid chuckle to his last comment. "No offensive Blu, but Jewel could probably look after better."

Eva leaned forward and pecked her mate's beak. "Do your best out there, pudgy papaya."

"With your love, anything is possible, my juicy little mango," Rafael replied as they embraced.

Blu opened his mouth to protest, but then it dawned on him how right Eduardo was. Jewel could kick his butt any day. With one more nod, team blue macaw jumped onto the stage to join the rest of their team. One by one, the teams entered the stage, the coach prepared to introduce them all.

"Team blue macaw!"

The blue macaw clan consisted of three returning members: Blu, Roberto and Armando. Mac decided not to return and defend his title while Rico had been busy. Instead, their spots had been replaced by Jewel who had spent the last six months training to win and Rafael, whom had returned to watch with his family and Nico and Pedro, but choose to help once he heard they needed a new member.

Before the match begun, Eduardo quickly gave them words of encouragement from the stands above. "Remember, your all a team at out there. Fight together, watch the other's backs and don't think it's unfair if two of one are fighting against a single opponent. They won't share the hesitation."

"Team scarlet macaw!"

Similar to their former rivals, scarlet macaw clan had four of their returning members as well: Anton, Carlos, Enrico and AJ. After Simon had been banned from last time's tournament (and not like they wanted him back anyway), his spot was replaced by Mariana, a girl also from the scarlet macaw clan.

"This time we make up for last years lost," Felipe reminded his team as he pointed a wingtip to each of them. "All of you better remember what we spent all year working on. Carlos, no overconfidence. AJ, control your temper. Enrico, NO drinking."

Anton, as usual, kept his usually frown as he narrowed his eyes towards team blue macaw. He gave a slight but noticeable nod towards Blu who returned the gesture. Last time, he had allowed their team to win out of respect, but this time, he did not intend to make such a kind gesture.

"Team military macaw!"

The stern and very-serious military members stepped forward, frowns across their faces. Their team consisted of four males and one female: Ray, Tup, Remit, Rajesh and Maria. They were all average built and all were from the same species, but the their strongest team Ray looked like he was in no mood for games.

Their clan leader Aku addressed them strictly in his deep voice. "The rest of those teams may think this is a sport, but we have no tolerance for games and are simply here to win. Show them why we are the strongest clan out there."

"Team lear macaw!"

The cheerful and enthusiastic lear macaws waved happily towards the group, smiled across their beaks. Their team consisted of three males and two females: Bruno, Ernesto, Skipper, Sophia and Christine. Most of them were average built, except for Bruno who was almost as large as Carlos. They too were all from the same species.

Their gleeful leader Amy encouraged her team. "Remember, it isn't about winning, it's simply about representation. Now get out there and do your best!"

"Team red-bellied!"

The intelligent and prepared red-bellied members merely gave nods of acknowledgement to the crowd. Their team consisted of four males and one female: Falconer, Brian, Tony, Sonny and Bee-Bee. They were all rather small like the rest of their species but were clearly confident with their abilities.

Their clan leader addressed them in a rather simple yet polite tone. "It's not about strength out there, it's about timing. Remember your studies, carefully analyse your opponent and we will come victories!"

On the stands, Nico observed the team and leaned over towards Pedro. "You'd think Blu would have been on their team."

The coach concluded his introduction to the team. "Now to go over the rules: as a battle royale, everyone will be fighting on this stage simultaneously. You can only knock an opponent out the match by knocking them off this stage. Flying is not permitted under any circumstances. Anyone caught trying to fly will be disqualified. If someone else from the same team does it, we will disqualify the entire team. The match will be held for 20 minutes. The last team standing will be declared the winners. If two or more teams still standing, we will count their members and determine who has the most left. That is all. Any questions?"

"Good," the coach nodded. "On my go, the battle royale will commence. Get prepared." he now jumped from the stage into the spectators seat, overseeing the match from a distance.

With only a few seconds left, Blu turned towards his team. "Teamwork is important here. We can do this if we just work together."

"This is gonna be great!" Tapir Game Announcer declared. "I'm rooting for team lear macaws."

"Aren't we suppose to be unbiased?" Porcupine Game Announcer reminded.

Tapir Game Announcer shrugged. "Said who? We work independently."

Porcupine Game Announcer now realised this. "Good point."

The coach raised his wing as high as it would go. "Let the battle royale..." he shot down his wing, officially declaring the games had begun. "Begin!"

With speed no one had witnessed ever, the teams jumped from their positions and engaged various opponents. Punches were thrown, kicks were flying and the crowds cheers were unmatched. To witness so many battles happening at once left them in awe, the fact they could root for whoever they wanted. Most of the teams were engaged, except for team blue macaw, whom had yet to make a move.

The team of five were standing in a circle, watching the other's backs as they prepared to move.

"This is tense!" Blu exclaimed. "Everyone, stay calm. Armando, I have a plan...Armando?"

With no response, Blu turned, watching in surprise as Armando had broke formation and engaged hand to hand with Sonny, rapidly throwing punches left in right. "Armando! Teamwork!"

"It's no use, amigo," Rafael warned. "Remember, it's not what you think in here. It's what you feel in here." he gestured towards Blu's heart. "Don't think, act-"

Rafael was cut off as Enrico tackled him, separating him from the rest of the team.

"There goes our master plan," Jewel said with a hint of sarcasm. "Blu, this teamwork was never going to work if we all stand in one spot. Take care of yourself, honey."

"Jewel, wait!" Blu called, but it was too late. Jewel had moved elsewhere and had engaged with Maria. He sighed. "Why do I bother?"

"Ju-Ju knows what she's doing," Roberto reassured, giving Blu a reason to believe what was about to occur next. Roberto narrowed his eyes towards Anton. "I owe Felipe's team from last time, so if you'll excuse me."

Roberto leaped forward and charged directly towards Anton whom was calmly dodging strikes from Brian.

Brian was throwing strike after strike, trying to land a direct hit. "This is extraordinary! No bat has ever moved this fast in battle!"

Anton grew tired of listening and calmly raised his wing in front of Brian's face, distracting him. With his incredible speed, Anton struck him in the stomach, winding him with swift strike. As Brian clutched one wing over his torso, Anton did not hesitate to finish his opponent, calmly kicking him backwards until he stumbled towards the edge of the stage and fell. Stunned and winded, he was unable to catch the edge and fell out.

"Contestant Brian from team red-bellied is out!" Tapir Game Announcer declared.

"Tomfoolery!" Brian cursed himself and joined his team leader on the sidelines.

Felipe release a laugh of triump, cheering for his best fighter. "Nice hit, Anton! Show them you're the toughest!"

Anton did not reply to his comment. As he marched away, he turned and witnessed Roberto charging towards him, no doubt eager for payback after last year's fight. Before Roberto could make contact, he was suddenly blocked by the rather large scarlet macaw.

"You're fighting me first!" Carlos demanded, stomping his gigantic talon towards him.

"Get out of my way!" Roberto responded and begun unleashing a fury of punches, each one landing but proving harmless against Carlos' incredible bulk.

"Roberto!" Eduardo called, hoping his words reached his best fighter over the amount of cheering and fighting. "Normal attacks don't work against Carlos! Remember last years tactic!"

Roberto thought back to last year, recalling how Armando used Carlos' own strength against him. As said giant threw his huge wing, Roberto caught it and attempted to pull him over his shoulder. It would have worked had Carlos not stomped his feet firmly on the ground.

"Nice try!" Carlos laughed.

Felipe also laughed, mocking Eduardo from where they were seated apart. "I've spent all year preparing my team. You won't be able to use the same tactics as last time!"

Roberto, however, seemed surprisingly calm, even with a grin. "I figured as much."

Carlos was confused, that was until he suddenly felt Roberto stomp on his foot, breaking his concentration. Quickly, Roberto slid under his legs and somehow, he grabbed Carlos in both wings and lifted the giant macaw over his head.

"Good!" Eduardo cheered. "Now throw him off, Roberto!"

"Right!" Roberto nodded and carried Carlos towards the edge of the ring, groaning with each step.

Carlos struggled to free himself, rapidly shaking to get free while avoiding flying to prevent being taken out for cheating. "Hey! Hey! Time out!"

"I don't think so!" Roberto laughed rather evilly. "Time to go bye-bye!"

Felipe screamed in horror as one of his strongest fighters was on the verge of being thrown out of the tournament. "AHHH! Carlos! Somebody help him!"

Roberto almost got to the end and prepared to throw Carlos out. That was stopped when a sharp and swift kicked knocked him to the side, causing him to drop Carlos in the process. He stumbled, but quickly recovered, coming face-to-face with Carlos and his saviour AJ. Both chuckled as they ganged up on him.

"Oh great," Roberto sighed.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1! Wow, this has been a lot of fun! Now I know there's a lot of people and it might be hard to keep track of who's out and who's in so I'll keeping track of the time and contestants. Please review and hope everyone has a fun Christmas!**_

 _ **Time remaining: 19 minutes**_

 _ **Members left:**_

 _ **Team blue macaw: 5**_

 _ **Team scarlet macaw: 5**_

 _ **Team military macaw: 5**_

 _ **Team lear macaw: 5**_

 _ **Team red-bellied macaw: 4**_


	2. Tension rises!

_**Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament**_

 _ **Hey everyone. Something I just want to quickly clear up on the story: all of the fights (unless mentioned in the story) are all happening at once, meaning the battles are shifting from one to another taking place moments later.**_

* * *

As conflict continued around him, Blu tried desperately to find some ground where he could put up a defence and gain some ground. There were so many fighters around him, not a single spot of the stage was empty. Twenty-four fighters giving their best, fighting for the glory of their clan.

Blu stumbled as he jumped a full one-hundred and eighty degrees, almost getting caught in a one on one fight. He whelped and stumbled backwards, staring as Bruno and Remit clashed fists, both seemingly fighting on equal ground despite Bruno's large appearance.

"You there!"

Blu jumped at the voice, immediately taking up a defence stance. Calming his mind to the best of his ability, he came face to face with his opponent that called him out: Skipper. The lea macaw calmly raised his wings and prepared to fight.

He seemed rather polite despite their current situation. "There's no need for feud. Come, fight with me with your best and may the better bird win."

Blu was surprised his politeness but made sure not to get distracted. As soon as he was ready, Skipper charged and the two engaged in one on one combat. Blu remained on the defensive for now, blocking any attacks he considered dangerous until he could find an opening.

Jewel was fighting just to stay in formation as she continued her fight against Maria, her opponent from the very beginning of the tournament. Maria was good, obviously well-trained in fighting.

Maria found a small opening and kicked Jewel backwards, creating some distance between them before she begun panting. "Not bad...Blue macaw. I was expecting a little less."

"What can I say?" Jewel shrugged. "I'm free-spirited. And a "hot-head" as my aunt likes to call me."

Maria responded with a small chuckle, wiping a small amount of dust from under her eye. "Amusing. Are you done buying time to recover?"

Unfazed, Jewel only grinned. "I was about to ask you the same thing."

The girls charged and locked wings, tying with all of their might to push the over back. It wasn't clear who was going to win, but their was cut short. They were forced to go their separate ways as the familiar giant of Carlos stumbled based, accompanied with AJ as they both pushed back Roberto. The charm but otherwise defensive blue macaw was forced back. Against Carlos' tough bulk and AJ's fast speed, it was difficult fighting them both together.

Roberto leaped back as he blocked a wing from AJ, countering with a swift kick. He had to move back shortly after to avoid Carlos huge wing. Deciding to take advantage of the situation, Roberto had a plan. Looking back, he noted Bee-Bee and Sophia fighting not far behind him, both on equal ground. Bee-Bee was more tactical while Sophia was quiet acrobatic.

"Now's not the time to be admiring the ladies!" AJ laughed as he leaped forward, one talon raised for a flying kick. "Face it, you're out number! Against my speed and Carlos' strength, you don't stand a chance!"

Roberto's supporters said otherwise. In the stands, a group of cheerleaders yelled for their hero. "Go Roberto! Go Roberto!"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Roberto said, taunting Carlos by waving both wings backwards. "Standing right here!"

Carlos raised his gigantic wing and swiped, intending to knock out Roberto with one strike. His plan only partially worked. Instead of his originally target, he instead struck Sophia. The lear macaw was completely caught off guard and flung through the air, falling straight towards the edge of the ring. Her previous opponent Bee-Bee had retreated elsewhere for now.

Sophia hit the edge of the wing with a thud and fell from the side. However, she caught herself just in time and hung on for dear life. This seemed ridiculous for a bird, but rules were rules. She felt her grip loosening, fearing any second now she would let go or someone would stomp on her wing.

Their leader Amy called out from the stands, encouraging her. "Don't give up, Sophia! Remember what we taught you: you can do anything if you put your heart towards it!"

Motivated by her leader's words, Amy inhaled a small deep breath before silently counting to three. She leaped up gracefully, landing successfully on the stage as she raised both wings proudly. Unfortunately, her previous joy had turned to surprise as a sudden shark kick collided with her stomach, knocking her back out of the stage. This time, she did not catch the edge and was forced to drop out.

"Contestant Sophia from team lear is out!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared.

Upon recovering, Sophia sighed in disappointment and joined her leader on the sidelines. Rather than express annoyance, Amy only smiled and patted her on the back, reassuring her she did her best.

Meanwhile, Blu continued to stay on the defensive against Skipper, only receiving minor blows. There was no chance of tiring down Skipper if he stayed like this throughout the tournament, he had to switch tactics soon. As Skipper continued his endless onslaught, Blu caught him in a wing lock before spinning ninety degrees and releasing, causing Skipper to stumble away. Skipper regained his footing not long after, narrowly recovering to block a strike from Blu. In response, he kicked and positioned himself behind Blu, wrapping one ring around his throat and another over his torso, restraining him.

Now caught in a hold, Blu grasped Skippers' grip and attempted to pry himself free, struggling desperately in the middle of the arena. He was being choked slightly, but that could easily changed. Blu tried stomping on his foot, followed with backwards punches to his head. Skipper did release cry's of pain but he had no intention of letting go.

Seeing his punches were proving ineffective, Blu resorted to his final option: negotiation. "You can't hold me forever! Eventually, someone is going to attack you and you can't knock me off if you're holding me like this."

Skipper was not surprised be either of these possibilities. "I have planned that out, my blue friend. My team leader Amy has discussed many strategies. Rest assured, we don't intend to use brutal force to win but that doesn't mean we won't try our best to win."

While he was talking, Blu acted fast and jabbed him sharp in his hip. This time, Skipper endured enough pain to let go, clutching one wing over his injury. Not letting him recover, Blu proceeded to strike him once in the torso, followed with shoving him backwards. Skipper stumbled and fell onto his back, not far from the edge of the wing.

Blu moved to attack, only to yelp when a rather large bird came charging his way. Bruno was stomping around the arena, attacking anyone in his way (except for his own teammates of course). Blu moved frantically to get out of his way, unwilling to get caught on the large macaw's rampage. He was moving fast, his footsteps causing the arena to shake.

At one point, Armando appeared after his fight with Sonny came to a halt and prepared to stand his ground. That was until Eduardo called from the stands.

"Armando! Don't try to be clever!" Eduardo warned. "You can't match his strength!"

Armando didn't get the chance to act. He watched as Bruno suddenly lost his footing and moved towards the right. He released a grunt as Anton appeared out of nowhere in mid-air, one talon pressed into Bruno's right wing.

Felipe laughed in triumph. "Nice hit, Anton!"

Before Bruno could recover, another strike happened from the left. He fell yet again as Remit (also in mid-air) had kicked his talon into Bruno's left wing.

"Excellent Remit!" Aku called, his voice firm.

Taking hits from both sides, Bruno fell to his knees, grunting as he rubbed both wings to ease the pain. Despite his size, both of their attacks had hurt like crazy. Remit decided to continue his attack and begun a furry of punches while he was down. As for Anton, he retreated elsewhere for now. Although the attacks had caught him by guard, Bruno recovered quite quicker than they expected.

"Learn you lesson," Remit raised his wing and swiftly strike Bruno directly in his right eyes, causing the giant to collapse and release a cry of pain.

Christine had been watching everything and jumped to he teammates aid, blocking Remit from moving any further. "Hey! It's just a tournament, what's you deal, you big meany?"

"You may think this is a game, but we strive to win!" Remit announced proudly as he raised his wing to strike Christine. He would have succeeded, had someone else not caught his wing. He turned and opened his beak to speak, only receiving a punch to his head that caused him to stumble.

Christine turned towards her saviour and was quite surprised. "Thank you."

"What can I say?" Armando shrugged and charmingly placed one wingtip under her chin. "I can't stand to see a man land his wings on a woman, especially one of my own kind."

Christine couldn't avoid a blush, seemingly oblivious to the battle around them. "Maybe we'll get a bite to eat after all this."

"I'd like that," Armando smiled as he casually backhanded Ernesto from behind him. "Until then, may the best team win."

Without another word, Armando bounced away to fight others, leaving the now amazed Christine flattered. She turned towards her teammate and calmly helped him stand.

His actions had not gone unnoticed by Eduardo, whom had his own opinion to say. "Armando! What do you think you're doing?"

Armando threw him a single wing. "Ah, chill out, old timer."

His minor insult caused the announcers to chuckle. Eduardo shot them a glance as they quickly pretended to act professional.

Amy couldn't help but coo over the interaction between her team member and Armando. "Young love."

Porcupine Game Announcer ceased his laughter to comment on the match. "Our timer shows eighteen minutes left on the match! So far, we have lost two members from match!"

Tapir Game Announcer eyed the stage for something of interest. "It looks like we may lose another soon! Contestant Rafael and Enrico are giving it their best!"

Rafael remained in a scuffle with Enrico, his first and only opponent so far whom he had tackled him from the start. They both were engaged in a wing lock, desperately trying to push the other back. Rafael was dangerously close to the edge of the ring, another few steps and he would be a goner.

"Meu Deus," Rafael muttered, surprised at the amount of pressure Enrico was putting onto him. At that moment, familiar voices echoed through the air, cheers calling his name. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his beautiful mate and only twenty-one of his children cheering for him from the stands.

He couldn't let them down now. With all his might, he raised his head and smacked his gigantic beak down onto Enrico's head. Needless to say, Enrico was completely caught off guard, losing his grip as he stumbled like a drunken man.

Felipe caught this and feared for the worst. "Enrico! Look out!"

It was too late. With all his might, Rafael swung his beak into Enico's torso, knocking him backwards as he tripped out the ring. He caught the edge of the ring, hanging on with one wing. He looked up towards the toucan standing above him. "Come on, man! Cut me a break!"

"You're right," Rafael nodded and leaned down. He reached out his wing, but instead of helping him up, he calmly tapped Enrico's wing, causing him to lose his grip and collapse to the ground below.

"Contestant Enrico from team scarlet is out!" Tapir Game Announcer declared.

Enrico slammed his wing in danger, refusing to believe that a toucan had got the best of him. An old man of all fighters as well. Grumbling. he marched away with his wings crossed, taking a seat beside his un-pleased coach.

"Enrico!" Felipe scolded. "How?!"

"Hey, his beak is stronger than it looks!" Enrico protested in defence.

Rafael took a quick wave towards his familiar. He drifted his eyes towards Eva, whom slicked her head feathers back and winked towards him. He caught this and blew her a kiss, causing their children to cringe and cover their eyes in disgust.

After his previous battle, Blu had got some ground and eyed the surroundings around them. As he raised both wings, he noted the familiar face of Ray, the supposedly strongest member of team military. He remained in one spot, wings crossed as he stood still as a statue. Blu didn't recall seeing Ray fight at all since the tournament had started.

Was he hiding something?

At that moment, Sonny appeared and leaped forward to attack Ray. As he came close, he suddenly froze in his steps, watching with pure terror was Ray stared towards him. Intimidated by his stare, Sonny turned and moved elsewhere to fight others instead, feeling that he would be no match for him.

Eduardo also caught this and called out a warning. "Blu, stay away from that one!"

Not hesitating, Blu accepted his father-in-law's advice and turned elsewhere, avoiding the rather still yet scary military macaw. He proceeded elsewhere as he studied the area around him, using his intelligence to calculate the area. Their team had not yet lost a member, three of the five teams had lost one member each. If kept up this pace, team blue macaw would be victorious.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2! Hope everyone is enjoying this so far. I got back from watching Star Wars The Last Jedi and loved it to bits! I will see you all in chapter 3. Not sure when since it's the holidays, but hopefully somewhere on the 27th December. Keep your updates open!**_

 _ **Time remaining: 17 minutes**_

 _ **Members left:**_

 _ **Team blue macaw: 5**_

 _ **Team scarlet macaw: 4**_

 _ **Team military macaw: 5**_

 _ **Team lear macaw: 4**_

 _ **Team red-bellied macaw: 4**_


	3. Danger's waiting!

_**Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament**_

 ** _No limits, no boundaries. Chapter 3. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!_**

* * *

Three minutes into the tournament felt like an eternity for Jewel. Since the start, she fought non-stop against Maria and was beginning to grow tired, her weak aching from the constant blocking. No matter how hard she fought, Maria just wasn't getting tired. Jewel slowly felt her speed slowing, her defences dropping.

Finally, Jewel gave up and dropped to her knees, panting with exhaustion. Her moment of defeat didn't last long as Maria grasped her talon against her throat. With surprising strength, she lifted her victim in the air as she hopped on one foot toward the edge of the ring.

Maria chuckled rather cruelly, admiring the defenceless blue macaw held firm within her grasp. "Sad, little Jewel, all tired out."

Between grasps, Jewel struggled as she lifted both wings, trying with all her might to pry Maria's toes open enough to wiggle her way through. "Th...Th..."

"What was that?" Maria questioned, leaning Jewel towards her face as she turned her head. "I can't hear you."

Within range, Jewel's previous terrified expression suddenly changed to that of a smirk. "Thank you."

Maria was heavily confused. That was until she suddenly felt two talons grasp against her sides, holding her tight. With one strong motion, Jewel bit one of Maria's toes, forcing her to release. Both stunned and left in pain, Maria was completely caught off guard and left paralyzed as Jewel fell down, placed both wings against the ground.

Now Maria realized that she had been tricked. Jewel was faking defeat the entire time. Clever.

With one swift motion, Jewel performed a small flip, pulling Maria backwards until she let go and watched as the military macaw fell from the edge of the stage with no chance of catching the edge of the ring. She hit the ground belly first, creating a small wave of dust upon impact.

"Contestant Maria from team military is out!" Porcupine Game Announcer.

Watching the entire events unfold (and intentionally worried), Eduardo stood and cheered for his daughter. "That's my little girl! That's my Jewel!"

Jewel waved back to her father as a thanks while she remained sure to keep her guard up. With Maria out of the ring, she searched for a new opponent to fight. While she had no problem fighting men as well, she knew some males had morals with hitting a girl and therefore, choose to avoid this if she could.

Upon returning to the sidelines, Aku was not pleased at the slightest. "Unacceptable! You'll be giving me one-hundred push ups when we get back."

Roberto was growing tired with the current position he found himself. Carlos and AJ were not giving him any breathing space, forcing him on the defensive. Barely avoiding both of their attacks, he had to make a move soon. One slip up would cost him dearly.

Searching drastically around him, Roberto opened his beak widely as he found the solution to his problem. With one strong leap, he landed beside Bruno, the large macaw from lear macaw whom had not long recovered from his previous attack. "Hey! Carlos over there said he's stronger than you!"

Carlos raised his eyebrow. "No I didn't-"

Out of nowhere, Bruno's fist collided with Carlos, knocking the unsuspecting macaw backwards. Shaking it off, Carlos growled, immediately taking his attention away from Roberto. Carlos and Bruno, the two giants from separate teams, both stomped towards the other and begun fighting.

"Carlos, the plan!" AJ pleaded with little use, watching as his large friend got distracted.

Roberto softly chuckled, crossing his wings towards the now alone AJ. "Now it's just you and I. This should be interesting."

"Don't get confident." AJ responded as he took up a defensive state. "I don't need Carlos' help to knock you from the ring."

"In case it hadn't dawned you, I kicked your butt at last year's tournament," Roberto reminded, hoping to provoke AJ's temper. However, this time it had not worked.

From the stands, Roberto could hear Felipe laughing in a mocking tone. "Nice try! AJ's spent all year working on his temper, you're not going to beat him that way."

Although Eduardo would never give out compliments easily, he had to praise Felipe for his thinking. Since last year's tournament, he had obviously learned from his mistakes and turned them into strengths, making his team one of the more dangerous ones.

"So be it," Roberto agreed and prepared. "Bring it, shorty!"

Without a single second to spare, both fighters lunged towards the other, their fists colliding halfway. Not far from their fight, Armando resumed his fight against Sonny. Strangely, his opponent appeared to be distracted from something else.

"What's your deal?" Armando questioned.

"Him," Sonny responded, nodding his head towards the right.

Armando didn't break his attack, but did narrow his eyes. Towards the centre of the ring, the mysterious Ray was still standing as a still as a statue, not making a single move. For a clan as strict as the military macaws, it was certainly a surprise to see one of their members not moving a single muscle.

Armando, however, was unfazed. "Well I'll deal with him soon. But first, HIYA!"

With a strong blow, Armando struck Sonny in the side of his face, causing him to break his guard and collapse. With his defensive down, Armando picked him up in both wings and proceeded to toss him across the ring directly towards the edge, intending to eliminate the next member of team red-bellied.

It almost worked. As Sonny flew through the air, Tony leaped up and caught his teammate, preventing both of them from falling from the ring.

Armando only sighed in annoyance, cracking his neck to release some tension. "Typical."

Through the various crowds, Blu did his best to avoid anyone he knew he was no match for. He scanned the opponents, trying to deduce whom he was match for. "Anton? Too fast. Bruno? Too big. Ernesto? I think I could beat him, I just need to calculate his movements and determine how-"

Blu suddenly whelped, falling to the ground stomach first. Spinning onto his back, he came face to face with his attacker: Falconer. He quickly stumbled to his feet, taking up a defensive state.

"It is not recommended to drop your guard in the midst of battle, my friend," Falconer warned as if he were trying to help. "Now prepare yourself. I intend this to be a fair fight, after all."

Though intentionally confused, Blu nodded and prepared himself. With surprising speed, Falconer charged and threw a barrage of punches. Staying on the defensive, Blu blocked most of the punches, only taking the ones that weren't strong enough to knock him off balance. As seconds passed, Falconer found himself not landing anymore hits, each one narrowly missing.

"I do not understand this!" Falconer exclaimed, throwing punch after punch that only hit the air. "How?!"

As he threw one more punch, his eyes widened as Blu caught his wing within his own. With a swift motion, Blu slammed his free wing into Falconer's stomach, winding him with the surprisingly strong blow. He gasped for air, confusion and pain washing over him. "How did you-?!"

"Simple," Blu responded rather politely. "I timed exactly how long it took you to throw a punch, precisely zero-point-seven seconds. I countered all your punches."

"You counted exactly to zero-one-seven seconds?!" Falconer questioned, receiving a small nod in reply. "Incredible! You would have made an excellent member to our team! Have you not considered putting all your intelligence to better use?"

"I have been tempted before," Blu replied as he narrowed his eyes towards his family in the stands, his kids cheering for their team. "But I already everything I want here. No thanks you."

"I understand," Falconer responded while being subtle in curling one of his wings into a fist.

Quickly, he threw a wing, only to miss as Blu completely side-stepped him. In response, Blu shoved him forward and that's when Falconer realized they had been standing by the edge of the arena the entire time. He waved his wings rapidly to try and regain his balance. He failed and plummeted out of the ring. Unable to catch the edge, he was forced to hit the end of the ring.

"Contestant Falconer from team red-belled is out!" Tapir Game Announcer.

"I have failed," Falconer said rather calmly. Retreating to the stands, he took a seat with the rest of his team as they spectated the rest of their team.

"You did well Falconer," Alberto assured, surprisingly the other team leaders with his calmness. "We still have three fighters remaining."

After seconds of searching, Jewel had finally found another fighter she wanted to battle and was her own gender: Christine from team lear. She approached her opponent whom was standing alone, preparing for any foes.

"Christine!" Jewel called out, catching her attention immediately. "Girl on girl, let's do this!"

"As you wish," Christine agreed with a small bow. "But can we try and avoid hitting faces? I may have a date after this."

Jewel only frowned, confused as to whenever Christine was trying to distract her or was actually being serious. "You can't be serious. This is a tournament!"

"I am very serious," Christine promised sincerely. "I think your friend's quite charming."

Jewel raised her eyebrow, puzzled as to what she was getting at. "You mean Roberto? I'm afraid you'll have to get in line there, half the girls in our clan adore him."

Christine softly giggled in amusement, pointing a wingtip towards the bird she actually meant. "Not Roberto! Armando!"

Jewel didn't look but acknowledged the correct person. "Armando? Really?"

Since last years tournament, Jewel and Blu had got to know the lear macaw quite well and became good friends with him. With his polite personality and rather charming persuasion power, she was surprised he had not already had a mate. Needless to say, Jewel didn't intend to possible disrupt that, even if it meant holding back on an opponent.

"Contestants Jewel and Christine appear to be having a conversation!" Porcupine Game Announcer noted.

"Hey ladies, this is a tournament!" Tapir Game Announcer reminded, only to receive threatening stares from both girls. He gulped and chuckled nervously. "Just K-K-Kidding, take all the time you need!"

Jewel turned back to Christine and accepted her deal. "Very well, no hitting in the face. But only if you agree no clawing either."

"It's a deal," Christine happily agreed and took up her fighting stance. "Ready when you are."

With small hesitation, the two females charged and begun trading punches, making sure to land hits only towards their torsos. Their actions had not gone unnoticed by their team leaders, but neither of them argued with how they wanted to fight, so long as they were actually fighting.

Nearby, Roberto traded multiple blows with AJ, notably growing more frustrated as seconds passed. AJ had been practising to the point where Roberto could land little to no blows. Even when he did land a hit, it only collided with spots AJ would feel little to no pain.

Leaping into the air, AJ begun a furry of bicycle kicks, radially kicking that Roberto was unable to block. With every hit Roberto took, he would stumble towards the edge of the ring, unable to stop himself. He would try and fight back, but AJ's rapid kicks were proving too much for him.

"Roberto!" Eduardo called out. "Break free, he's kicking you too the edge!"

Roberto knew this all to well. Out of the corner of his eye, he could clearly see the edge of the ring coming closer into view. He had to act fast, now! As the edge came closer, AJ finally lost his balance and was forced back onto his feet, standing proudly against the injured blue macaw.

"Looking a little tired now, Roberto," AJ mocked and proceeded to punch him left to right.

Roberto tried with all his might but he lacked any defences. He was too exhausted to put up any kind of defence, forcing to take each blow. He came closer to the edge, his talon was barely standing on the edge. He panted heavily while AJ stood with his wings crossed.

"This is payback for beating me last year," AJ replied as he moved closer. "I would like to say this is nothing personal, but that would be lying. To think, I got the honour of kicking out team blue macaw's strongest member."

"AJ!" Felipe screamed, causing AJ to jump at the sudden screech. "Stop your over-blown speech and just kick him out!"

"Right!" AJ nodded and raised his talon to finish the job. "Say goodbye!"

With one strong kick, his talon collided with Roberto's chest and knocked the blue macaw out of the ring. Too exhausted to even try and save himself, Roberto was forced to fall from the ring, leaving his various fans shocked. He landed back first on the ground, barely conscious from the amount of hits he received.

"NO!" Eduardo bellowed,

"Contestant Roberto from team blue macaw is out!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared.

"And he appears to be seriously hurt!" Tapir Game Announcer added. "We better get the medics!"

A couple of blue macaws ran out from the stands and lifted their injured ally out of the arena. Due to his injuries, they took him elsewhere to check on him before he would join his team leader on the stages.

The coach stepped out seconds later. "He will be okay, folks!"

AJ laughed in triumph, celebrating his victory over defeating the legendary fighter of team blue macaw. He performed back-flips while doing so, seemingly oblivious to fighting around him. "I got him! Nobody beats AJ!"

"Yellow-collared macaw!"

AJ turned towards whoever called out his species. He crossed his wings as he turned towards Remit, a member from team military macaw. "Who's asking?"

"You did well against that amateur, but don't think you are match for a true warrior," Remit insulted him and stepped forward. "You consider yourself a true fighter, but in reality, you're nothing but a weakling."

AJ softly growled, but refused to let his temper return. Instead, he turned towards the military macaw and stood his ground. "You want some, too? Bring it on!"

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3! Wow, a lot happened in this chapter, a lot of people were knocked off the stage. We lost three members of this chapter. But now the question remains on who will stay and who will fall? Stay tuned for chapter 4!**_

 _ **Time remaining: 15 minutes**_

 _ **Members left:**_

 _ **Team blue macaw: 4**_

 _ **Team scarlet macaw: 4**_

 _ **Team military macaw: 4**_

 _ **Team lear macaw: 4**_

 _ **Team red-bellied macaw: 3**_


	4. Fight of the speedsters!

_**Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament**_

 ** _Hiya guys, Carly here. Now I didn't want to bring this up, but I feel have no choice. While I am grateful for the reviews, you're not actually reviewing. Simply stating what's happening in chapters isn't reviewing. If no one tells me their thoughts and points out errors, then how am I suppose to be improve? I'm not trying to sound rude, but I really do want to get better at this. So please considering that, thank you. Onward to chapter 4._**

* * *

AJ lugned towards Remit, his leg raised for a flying kick. Remit was more than prepared for this and blocked his talon with relative ease before delivering a powerful strike towards AJ's lower torso. AJ released a grunt of agony, falling to the ground as he clutched one wing over his injury.

Remit was not done yet, picking up AJ by the scruff of his hair feathers. He repeatedly delivered blow after blow, striking hard with no mercy.

"Contestant AJ is getting the beatdown!" Porcupine Game Announcer stated.

Felipe was panicking as he couldn't afford to lose anymore members. "AJ! Break free! GET OUT OF THERE!"

"I...Can't...!" AJ groaned between punches, each one winding him and causing him to release cries of pain.

Eduardo focused his attention towards the current fight. While he did not want their team to win (and adding onto the fact AJ had not long taken out Roberto, his best fighter), he couldn't help but feel pity for him. AJ was practically a kid, only ten-years-old compared to the rest of the fighters.

Running out of options, Felipe stood and forced AJ to do what he did best: "AJ! Stop getting beaten, you pathetic excuse of a fighter! You're gonna get beaten by some wannabe tough guy!? Pathetic! How you even beat Roberto like that?! HUH!?"

"SHUT UP!" AJ screamed at the top of his lungs, throwing his talon forward and striking Remit directly in his face.

His attack collided with Remit's eye as well, causing him to fall back and hold one wing over his eye. Enraged, AJ charged and begun a series of attacks, striking fast in every possible spot before he could recover. Felipe now laughed in triumph, applauding his young fighter with pride. This had not gone unnoticed by Aku.

"You think your fighter stands a chance against Remit?" Aku questioned while he sat with his eyes focused and wings crossed.

"In case your eyes slipped, AJ's kicking your guy into next year's tournament!" Felipe retorted mockingly. "Your military macaws aren't as tough as you think."

Aku merely turned his head back towards the fight, muttering: "We'll see."

Meanwhile, Blu collided fists with Ernesto as they fought in the centre of the arena, dangerously close towards the fight between the big brutes Carlos and Bruno. The last thing they needed was to get caught in a fight between giants.

Ernesto kicked Blu in his lower torso before slamming his wing onto his back. Being able to tolerate it, Blu retaliated with tackling him to the ground. He pinned himself above Ernesto and hold one wing against his neck, hoping to put him into submission before throwing him off.

"You cannot defeat me, my friend," Ernesto responded as he raised both wings and ear slapped Blu.

His eyes now filled with a high-pitched ringing, Blu was forced to let go and nurse his ears. Through the ringing, he could hear Eduardo calling out something along the lines of "don't let your guard down". As the ringing ceased, Ernesto shoved Blu forward before catching him in a headlock. Now caught, Ernesto begun to drag him towards the end of the ring.

Blu, however, was not giving up without a fight. Slamming his foot into the ground, he gained enough momentum to push both of them back, causing Ernesto to fall back first. Blu rolled over and struck Ernesto repeatedly in the face, resorting to more offensive strategies to try and beat the lear macaw.

Jewel gracefully performed a cartwheel to avoid one of Christine's kicks. She made good on her promise and didn't aim for the face, though she didn't ease her attacks against her opponent's torso. Despite her cheerful personality, Christine was surprisingly a better fighter than she anticipated. Not on par with Maria, but definitely up there with some of the best.

Christine ducked to avoid a kick and retaliated with a jab towards Jewel's stomach, causing her to stumble. She moved to strike with a fist, only to miss as Jewel sidestepped and kicked her opponent down towards the ground.

"You fight well," Christine praised as she jumped towards her feet. "I can see why your team needed you."

"Being peaceful isn't one of my best traits," Jewel admitted as she unleashed a furry of punches towards Christine's stomach, each one colliding and further proving her point. As soon as she was tiring out, Jewel resorted to kicking, knocking the weakened Christine towards the ground.

Armando fought against Tony, intending him to be his next fighter to leave this tournament. He lunged forward and begun a furry of punches, throwing rapid punches. Tony kept his guard, avoiding the blow that would deliver the most damage.

"I'm pretty ticked off you stopped me from knocking out your friend over there," Armando expressed his annoyance while nodding his head towards said opponent. Sonny had broken off his previous fight to engage with Rafael.

"Teamwork is vital to winning," Tony explained to justify his actions. He remained patient until he find an opening in Armando's defences, clawing against Armando's lower torso. His eyes, however, widened in disbelief when his attack did nothing. "What?"

Armando examined the damage, spotting a couple of his shredded feathers. He frowned towards his opponent. "Now you've done it."

With one swift motion, Armando slammed his wing into Tony's torso, winding him and causing him to collapse in agony. Through his winded breath, Tony muttered: "How...? You should have been knocked down from that attack!"

"I also did have an iron stomach," Armando replied. With swift motion, he unleashed his furry and rage, each hit giving him satisfaction for payback. He continued doing so until he had enough and picked Tony up above his head.

Doing one quick double-check to see if none of his teammates were around, Armando threw him towards the end of the stage, directly towards the end of the ring. Tony flung through the air, pain preventing him from stopping himself. He would have been knocked out had the familiar faces of Carlos and Bruno not prevented that. He collided with the two giants midway, slamming into them before falling to the ground.

Armando angrily slammed his foot to the ground. "Oh, come on! Give me a break!"

"Contestant Armando seems to have trouble knocking out opponents!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared.

"While his strength his unmatched, his luck doesn't appear to be holding out!" Tapir Game Announcer added.

While the rest of their team had been pulling their weight, Rafael had yet to eliminated another fighter. He remained a scuffle with Sonny, both fighters trying to push the other backwards. Their strength appeared to be that of equal match, but Rafael was clearly tiring and couldn't hold his own forever.

"You should give up," Sonny recommended. "Someone of your age shouldn't be fighting like this."

"Hey, I'm not that old!" Rafael protested. "I may have eighteen kids, but don't let that give you the impression that I'm retired, amigo."

"I beg to differ," Sony disagreed as he raised his leg and kicked Rafael twice in the stomach, attempting to throw him off guard. Rafael tried to tolerate the pain and hold his ground, but more kicks would cause him to lose his guard soon.

Skipper groaned in agony as a powerful strike was delivered to his torso. He lost his will to fight and collapsed, barely staying awake. Anton stood over him, wings to his side as he addressed him.

"You have lost," Anton stated. "Jump off the arena or I throw you off. Your choice."

Between groans and sheer pain, Skipper was able to stand to his feet. He barely stood, raising his wings in an attempt to keep his guard up and continue fighting.

"Never," Skipper disagreed as he raised one wing back to attack.

With a weakened attack, he threw his wing forward in one last attempt. Anton calmly blocked before punching him in the stomach, followed with a swift kick that collided and launched Skipper out of the ring. He fell out of the ring, unable to keep his balance and landing stomach first, making him the second member of their team to go.

"Contestant Skipper from team lear is out!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared.

Skipper groaned as he got to his feet, clutching one ring over his stomach and joined his team. Amy reasurred him he did his best and nothing he could have done against a legendary warrior like Anton.

Felipe laughed in triumph, feeling that things were finally going his way. He cheered as he jumped up and down in his seat. "You're the best, Anton! We knocked out the strongest members of two teams, we're gonna win!"

Amy sighed as he leaned into her seat, crossing wings as she expressed annoyance over he opponent. "His yells are almost as big as his ego."

"I heard that, Amy!"

"Well, I did say out loud!"

Anton calmly stepped away from the edge of the ring, looking towards anymore foes that he could knock out quick or were actually a match for him. His originally target was Armando, but someone else had the same idea. Tup from team military approached him with a cocky smile, standing firmly in a challenging pose. Anton stopped his tracks, eyeing this new foe.

"You must be Anton from team scarlet," Tup assumed. "It is odd that you would ally yourself with a different clan. I have heard much of you tales, how you are a legendary warrior amongst your people. A shame that legend ends today."

Anton did not reply, crossing his wings as he eyed this new opponent. Tup was no different than the rest of the fighters in terms of appearance, but something about him was threatening, something was wrong. He prepared a defence, not willing to get overconfident.

"That guy looks serious, Felipe," Enrico noted as they watched from the stands.

"You worry too much," Felipe assured confidently. "Anton will crush that guy."

The two fighters from both teams stared the other down, both eyes filled with pure concentration and determination. Anton didn't even blink, knowing that something about this guy wasn't right. As tense seconds passed, Tup finally made the first move and charged with incredible speed. Anton stood his ground and prepared to counter. What happened next caught everyone off guard. Tup landed a successful blow against Anton's face, knocking him backwards with his strength.

Anton, though surprised and feeling pain, was able to stop himself from sliding further. He kept his cool and prepared another defense, though the rest of his team were clearly surprised, none more than their team leader.

Felipe screamed in surprised, clutching both wings against his head. "What?!

"Well, this was unexpected folks!" Tapir Game Announcer admitted.

Anton calmly nursed his face until the pain eased while Tup stood nearby laughing. "I see your confidence is not misplaced."

"I told you that your legend ends today!" Tup replied as he placed both wings to his hips.

"Anton!" Felipe called. "It was just a lucky shot, don't let him get the upper hand!"

"I have to give you credit though," Tup admitted with a small chuckle. "You keep you cool well, but that's starting to annoy me. Come on!"

Tup charged yet again. This time, Anton charged as well to meet him halfway, both fighters moving to engage the other. They met halfway in the centre of the ring. In another unexpected twist, Tup struck first. He landed on the ground while Anton was left spinning in mid-air before collapsing to the ground back first.

"Another hit!" Felipe yelled, angrily shaking Enrico to ease his nerves. "What's going on around here?"

Nearby, Aku chuckled in amusement as he turned his attention towards Felipe. "It seems you underestimated my team. Tup is one of my best men, known for his incredible speed that surpass that of a normal macaw. I know Anton if your ace warrior, without him, the rest of your team is toast."

Anton recovered his footing, confusion and annoyance washed around him. He calmly spoke to himself as he waited for his injuries to heal. "My senses couldn't even detect him moving. It's like he knew...Wait a minute."

As he got to his feet yet again, Anton thought back to their brief fight seconds ago, analysing it carefully. With careful thinking and planning, Anton finally came to a conclusion. "I understand now. You saw my body tense up when I use my senses, you knew exactly where I would strike."

"Well done!" Tup praised with a hint of sarcasm. "My speed allows me to strike before your senses kick it and help you fight. You will never beat my defences. Now, shall we finish this and save you further humiliation? Try and block if you want, it'll be the same every time."

Needless to say, even Eduardo was concerned with this situation. He crossed his wings as focused his attention towards the fight. "Anton is one of the strongest fighters on the stage. If he cannot beat Tup, then the rest of our team might not stand a chance."

Without further waiting, Tup charged yet again and begun to unleash a furry of punches. Anton remained on the defensive, blocking most of the blows as he restored to moving away until he found an opening in his opponents attacks. Other fighters around had ceased fighting, intrigued in the match with the speedsters. The rest of team lear remained worried, knowing they were in danger if Anton lost.

As Tup continued his endless onslaught, Aku had been watching from the stands and noticed something wasn't right.

"It looks like Tup has him on the ropes," Maria noted with a small grin.

"I don't think so," Aku disagreed, watching the fight with close observation. "The warrior Anton, he is adapting to Tup's speed. Watch the fight, you can see that Anton is getting hit but he's avoiding blows to vital areas. It's like he wants Tup to hit him. It's a trap!"

Maria immediately called out towards their only free fighter. "Rajesh! Help Tup, now!"

Rajesh didn't ask why but did as he was told. Tup continued his attack, not easing up one hit as Anton remained unable to fight back. With one strong kick, Tup knocked Anton back towards the edge of the stage. Anton caught his footing, standing a mere few inches away from falling out.

"Nowhere left to run," Tup taunted as he lunged forward, one wing raised for the final attack. "It's over!"

As his wing came close to making contact, Tup's eyes widened in horror as Anton fell down onto his back, completely missing his intended target. Unable to stop himself midair without breaking the rules, Tup realized he had messed up as he fell out of the stage.

"Oh no!" Tup screamed as he flew directly over Anton.

Felipe cheered in relief. "Yes! Nice Anton!"

"It is you who has nowhere left to run," Anton taunted as he stepped away, suspecting his job as done.

Tup saw the ground coming closer and suspected his end. In relief, he saw himself stop in midair, feeling someone grab his talon. With one strong motion, Rajesh pulled Tup back onto the stage, both fighters successfully landing together.

"Contestant Tup has avoided falling from the ring!" Porcupine Game Annoucner declared.

Felipe had his own thoughts to speak towards the announcer friends. "Hey! That's not allowed! Is it?"

The coach replied back in a matter of seconds. "Contestant Tup did not hit the ground, and therefore, he has not been eliminated. He stays."

Felipe crossed his wings and leaned back in his chair like a child. "Of course."

Realising the fight was far from over, Anton turned towards the two fighters and prepared a stance. While he appeared cool from the outside, he had doubts within. He just about held his own against Tup's speed; now he had to deal with Rajesh as well.

"Lucky," Tup spoke as he moved forward to lunge for another speed attack. "You won't catch me off guard like that again. It's over now!"

Tup dashed forward, one ring raised with the intention of finishing Anton once and for all. As he came close a mere foot away from his intended target, he suddenly froze as a firm grip grasped against his wing. Tup stopped and turned his head, coming face to face with a familiar blue macaw.

Before he could act, Blu kicked him towards Rajesh. He took position beside Anton while Rajesh caught his teammate.

Anton wasn't exactly grateful for the assistance. "I didn't ask for your help."

"I'm not helping," Blu replied with a half-smile. "I don't like it when two birds gang up on one, but I like to consider this as a move to weaken the numbers of their own team."

"Blu and Anton have joined forces to fight a common enemy," Eduardo noted as he called towards his former rival. "Hey Felipe! You should be grateful Blu has such a kind heart."

Felipe didn't respond and pretended he did not care. Little did Eduardo know that inside, Felipe was hiding his relief, thankful that someone saved his ace warrior from falling.

Aku remained unfazed on the situation, crossing his wings with a stern look. "Their new teamwork will be their own undoing. A chance to knock off two fighters as well."

As the four fights stared towards the other, Blu narrowed his eyes towards Anton. "I can handle Tup."

"I wouldn't do that," Anton recommended. "Tup's fast, faster than you could imagine."

No more words were exchanged as Blu charged towards Tup. With his cocky smile, Tup prepared to counter and finish this fight. As he threw one punch, his eyes widened as he missed completely. Blu ducked and kicked him in the stomach, followed a leap kick. Rajesh moved to help, only to receive a kick from Anton that knocked him backwards.

"How?!" Tup questioned, throwing punch after punch that narrowly missed.

"It takes you zero-point-two seconds to throw an attack," Blu explained as he avoided more attacks. "Your speed is remarkable, but your movements are too predictable. I can see why Anton had trouble fighting you."

In the meantime, Rajesh begun his attack on Anton, throwing rapid punches. Having already adapted to Tup's speed and noting Rajesh had nothing unique to him, Anton avoided his blows with little to no trouble. However, he was not satisfied with this. Tup was dangerous and had to be taken out out the battle, something he should have the honour of doing.

Nearby, Jewel observed the events taking place, shaking her head with a smile. "Oh Blu. You may not be the brightest, but you'll always be the kindest."

"Your mate is a good man," Christine agreed. "You're one lucky bird, Jewel. I can only imagine the day you first met, you must have never wanted to leave him."

"I was chained to him for a whole day, after all," Jewel replied, thinking back to their first encounter four-years-ago. It almost felt like yesterday. "Anyway, shall we continue?"

Armando had similar thoughts, eyeing the fight with his wings crossed. "Blu, I don't know if you're really smart or just outright dumb. I hope you know what you're doing."

Nearby, the mysterious Ray eyed the fight curiously, still standing firm in his spot. He had not left his previous position still since the tournament had first started. He turned towards Aku in the stands, who raised his wing and signalled for him to wait. Ray nodded and continued holding his ground.

Anton slammed his fist into Rajesh's torso, winding him and knocking him to the ground. He turned and approached the fight between Blu and Tup. Said blue macaw had just been knocked back, sliding across the ground until he gathered his footing.

Anton placed his wing out, stopping Blu in his steps. "Blu, switch with me. I will handle Tup."

Blu raised his eyebrow. "Are you sure? Anton, I don't mean to be rude, but Tup always knocked you out a minute ago."

"Trust me," Anton assured as he stepped forward.

Felipe threw another one of his fits as he jumped to his feet, scaring Enrico sitting beside him. " Anton, what are you doing?! Let Blu fight him if he wants to!"

Anton ignored him and stepped forward, approaching the military macaw with a firm and confident expression. Rajesh stepped up and moved to interfere, only to be tackled by Blu and dragged elsewhere.

"Back for another beat down?" Tup questioned. "Suit yourself!"

With swift charges, both contestants zoomed towards the other, fighting on the offensive as they moved to attack the other. Tup grinned and had his wing ready to strike. As their distance closed, his cocky smile turned to one of shock as Anton's wing slammed directly into his stomach. Tup tumbled over while Anton kept his wing in place.

"What?!" Tup grunted, filled with pure surprise that Anton had landed a successful blow against him.

Anton pushed him forward, standing over the wounded military macaw. "You knew where I would strike by studying my senses. I simply pretended to rely on them, making your move predictable."

Mariana stood nearby with AJ, watching the fight curiously. "Anton has turned the tide in our favour. But why would he tell Tup his strategy?"

"Anton is a proud warrior," AJ explained while nursing his wing from his previous fight with Remit. "He wants his opponent to understand the hopeless of their situation."

Tup lunged forward and threw a punch, only to completely miss as Anton sidestepped. Before he could act, Anton retaliated with an undercut that knocked Tup backwards. He caught his footing, rubbing one wing under his beak. "You used your senses that time?!"

"That's right," Anton confirmed. "What will I do next? Will I use my senses or not?"

Felipe chuckled as he leaned back in his seat, both wings placed behind the back of his head. "Tup's getting confused. Seems you're fastest fighter has much to learn, Aku!"

Anton charged forward with his speed while Tup remained frozen, too confused to predict his attack. Anton's wing collided with his face, followed with a furry of punches against Tup's torso, rapidly striking his most vital area. He continued doing so for a few seconds, using a boxing style to deliver the most damage possible. With one more strong punch, Anton slammed his wing against Tup's back, knocking him over.

"AH!" Tup released a groan of agony, collapsing to the ground on his stomach. The pain left him paralysed, unable to move and fight.

Anton seized Tup by the scruff of his head, forcing him onto his feet. "Now you understand. Jump off or I throw you off."

"Surrender isn't an option for us!" Tup refused between grunts.

Anton frowned towards him. "Then I will choose for you!"

With one strong swing, Anton threw Tup towards the edge of the ring, watching in satisfaction as he fell from the ring. Anton turned and walked away, pleased with the outcome of his fight. Now he had to go and fight someone else worthy of his team.

"Contestant Tup from team military is out!" Tapir Game Announcer declared.

"Anton the legendary bat strikes again!" Porcupine Game Announcer added.

Aku was not pleased to see one of his best fighters out of the ring, watching with disappointment as Tup joined them in the stands. "You will be joining Maria in those push-ups, Tup."

Nearby, Felipe was gloating about their victory, mocking Aku further. "You actually thought Tup had a chance?! You make me laugh, Aku."

Aku frowned, turning his head back towards the stage where the rest of the fighters continued their battle against the other. "Keep laughing while you can, Felipe. All this will be over soon."

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4! A lot has happened in this chapter and therefore, more time has passed. Almost half time has passed since the start of the tournament. Who will win and who will fall?**_

 _ **Time remaining: 11 minutes**_

 _ **Members left:**_

 _ **Team blue macaw: 4**_

 _ **Team scarlet macaw: 4**_

 _ **Team military macaw: 3**_

 _ **Team lear macaw: 3**_

 _ **Team red-bellied macaw: 3**_


	5. Half time!

_**Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament**_

 ** _Hiya, back with the next chapter. I've put a vote on my profile that you guys can vote to see which team you like the most out of this story._**

* * *

With the battle royale almost at half time, the various fighters were now putting more effort into their attacks. If all five members of a team fell out, they lost. If the time ran out and there was another team with more members, they lost. The only hope for each of the team is to knock out everyone quickly and effectively before they were overwhelmed by too many numbers.

AJ continued to throw punch after punch towards Remit, filled with pure anger that strengthened his will. Remit blocked half of the attacks, but AJ's uncoordinated and swift attacks made it difficult to predict where he was going to fight. The defeat of Maria and Tup left them were less members, but as long as they had Ray, they were not concerned in the slightest.

"HYA!" AJ screamed and slammed his talon into Remit's chest. Though he received kick head on, Remit prevented himself from loosing balance, keeping up a good defence.

Felipe remained concerned for his young fighter's progress, not only for his fighting skills but for his safety. "AJ! You can calm down now! You're gonna get hurt!"

"Shut up!" AJ bellowed, forcing Felipe to stumble in surprise at the mere yell of his voice. He growled and charged towards Remit, throwing his rapid punches without any thinking.

Aku shook his head in disappointed, turning towards the scarlet macaw. "Your fighters are undisciplined and sloppy."

Felipe frowned. "Are you blind or just ignorant? There's four of my guys left and three of yours. In case you can't perform simple maths, we're ahead!"

"Don't put too much faith in your team," Aku responded. "Maria and Tup may be out, but in one minute you will be regretting everything you have to say."

Eduardo eavesdropped on their conversation, raising his eyebrow in concern. Putting two and two together, he knew Aku was refereeing to the mysterious Ray. Since the start of the tournament, he had not moved from his position. None other fighter had dared to challenge yet, either too scared or not wanting to start a fight yet. With Aku's calm personality and Ray's fearsome stare, Eduardo knew something was going on here.

Blu remained on the defensive against Rajesh, blocking all of his strong blows when given chance. He ducked to avoid a kick before countering with a small jab; one that Rajesh barely felt.

Rajesh chuckled as he brushed off the attack. "I must say I am impressed. Not many got avoid blows from Tup and I like that. Your species are more skilled than we imagined. For a rare clan, that is."

"Blue macaws weren't always endangered!" Blu protested. "If we lived in a better world, maybe things would be different. Our kind are rare, but we're no different fro the rest of you."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you speak too much?" Rajesh questioned with a small chuckle. "You're no doubt the brains of the team, Armando is the strongest and Roberto was the must experienced. But apart from that, the best you could gather up was a pretty face and an old man?"

Blu frowned as he tightened his wingtips, but kept a cool head nevertheless. "That 'pretty face' happens to be my wife. And that 'old man' is one of my best friends. Trust me when I say this: Jewel would kick your butt any day."

Rajesh responded with a chuckle while crossing his wings together. "Is that a fact? Maybe when I'm done with you, I'll pay her a visit."

Blu, while usually calm and shy, was beginning to feel a bit of rage building within. He was many things: a nerd, kind and polite, regardless of the situation. But one thing no one ever did was threaten his family. "Your fight is with me, unless you're too scared to pick a fight with me!"

"Me? Afraid?" Rajesh scoffed as he cracked the bones in his neck, releasing some tension. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

Not far from her husband, Jewel continued her endless fight with Christine. Compared to the rest of the fighters, she was taking a lot longer to defeat her opponents, only eliminating one so far. Christine was very good at fighting, no doubt this is why she was one of the strongest fighters from team lear. They clashed fists before stepping back, trying to gain the advantage over the other.

"You're good," Christine praised once again. "Maybe our clans could hang out after this and get in some training for next year's tournament."

"I didn't think there would be another battle royale," Jewel admitted while dodging punches. She smiled. "But I'd like that. I got the wrong idea about you guys. I thought all of you were nothing but mindless brutes only eager to win."

Christine chuckled in agreement. "As did I. Unlike Felipe and Aku, we only intend to represent and not win. That's the perks of being birds of blue feathers, right?"

Jewel nodded. "Right."

Armando clashed fists with Tony, followed with a uppercut that Tony avoided. Armando was growing too annoyed with fighting the red-belled macaws. Twice they had robbed him off eliminating another fighter, a feat he did not intend to happen again. He threw punch after punch while Tony remained on the defensive for now, noticeably growing weary from fighting for so long.

"Tony, break off!" Bee-Bee called from nearby as she ducked to avoid Mariana's fists.

Tony was growing more tired with every dodge, being pushed towards the edge of the ring. Armando kept pressure against without any mercy, using all of his might to keep the strength on. With one strong kick, Armando knocked Tony towards the end.

Tony rapidly waved his wings to gain his footing (careful not to fly) until he regained his footing, stopping only a few feet away from the end. He panted an exhaustion, knowing that he was cornered with none of his allies nearby to help.

"Nowhere left to run," Armando taunted as he braced himself to launch. "No one's gonna stop you this time!"

Tony narrowed his eyes, keeping a clear mind to figure out a tactic out of here. No opening; forward, left and right, all blocked by Armando. Tony was on the verge of giving up, that was until he spotted an unfamiliar face. Ernesto from team lear was charging towards Armando, intending to attack him while his attention was distracted.

Perfect.

Ernesto leaped forward, his talon raised to kick Armando off the edge. Eduardo practically leaped from his seat in an attempt to warn him, calling loudly, but it appeared Armando was not listening in the slightest. As Ernesto's foot came close to it's intended target, he was not expecting Armando to suddenly sidestep.

"What?!" Ernesto exclaimed, unable to stop himself without breaking the rules.

With a swift leap, Armando jumped and kicked Ernesto forward with even more momentium. Ernesto release a cry of terror as he collided with Tony, knocking both of them from the edge of the stage. Stunned and mixed with terror, the two were unable to stop themselves from falling, landing firmly on the ground.

"Contestants Ernesto and Tony from team lear and team red-bellied are out!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared.

"A double knockout from team blue macaw!" Tapir Game Announcer added while he narrowed his eyes towards their sand timer. "And it appears half time has passed! Ten minutes until the tournament is at an end!"

Armando took a couple of bows towards the crowd before leaping back into action. He scanned the area around them to find someone else to fight. Perhaps he could finally get the chance to take on a military macaw.

From the stands, Aku narrowed his eyes towards Ray, who in return had looked towards his leader. "Ray. The time for saving your strength is over. It's time to show these fighters the true meaning of strength. Start with the strongest warriors and allow your team to do the rest."

Ray nodded softly and for the first time, he moved. The crowd remained in awe has he slowly took steps forward, ignoring anyone around him while he targeted specific members. He approached the two giants Carlos and Bruno, both who were still in their endless fight. Bruno slammed his fist into Carlos' stomach, winding him long enough to kick him back.

Bruno was prepared to follow, but ceased when he noted the new fighter challenging him. He turned, looking down towards the military macaw with a confused expression.

Eduardo watched with curiosity, puzzled as to why Ray would challenge someone as large as Bruno. Ray was obviously well-built and trained, but in actual size, he was only a couple of inches taller than Blu. "This Ray is either very brave or stupid."

"Look, I don't really want to fight someone that causes too much injury," Bruno admitted sincerely. "Please, fight someone more your size-"

"Silence," Ray grumbled, his very voice causing Bruno to step back in surprise. With slow movements, Ray raised his wing back in a fist, took up a footing position. The other fighters around them had actually ceased fighting to witness what was going to happen next.

Christine gestured towards the two fighters to fight. "Look!"

Jewel made certain Christine wasn't trying to trick her before looking. Curiously, she turned and watched the encounter with curiosity, crossing her wings. "That's Ray from team military, but why would he try and fight Bruno?"

AJ scoffed as he mocked Remit while their fight was paused. "Your friend over there is quite stupid."

Remit chuckled. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, kiddo. Keep watching."

"This should be interesting," Sonny said breaking his scuffle from Rafael. "My studies show that Ray will have a ten-percent chance of dealing any damage based off their size and strength."

With all of the fighters watching, Ray knew it was the time to strike. Bruno, while previously calm, now remained concerned and prepared himself. With speed that did not compare to the likes of Tup or Anton, Ray leaped upwards Bruno and struck the giant directly in his face. No one would have guessed that his punch would cause Bruno to fall over. Tumbling from the strong force of power, Bruno release a cry of agony before tripping backwards. Relentlessly, Ray followed up with a kick that knocked Bruno back yet again, this time knocking him over the edge of the ring.

Unable to stop himself and still shocked from the damaged inflicted, Bruno was forced to fall down, his size causing a powerful collision.

"Contestant Bruno from team lear is out!" Tapir Game Announcer declared. "If anyone thought Ray was weak, they know better now!"

Aku chuckled as he turned towards Eduardo and Felipe to his right. "Now you understand the try might of our team. Ray is the strongest military macaw known to bird, surpassing all of our strength. When he defeats the strongest warriors from each time, everyone else will lose their will to fight."

Amy gently held Bruno's wing as he sat beside them, reassuring him that it was not his fault for losing. "Are you okay, Bruno?"

"I think so," Bruno replied while he rubbed one wing against his face. "He hits hard!"

"This isn't good," Sophia added. "Christine's our last fighter. If she loses, our team will be eliminated. Whenever we win or lose, I hope she gives it her all."

Anton eyed Ray with curiously while he stepped back towards another part of the ring. "This one is dangerous."

A mixture of worry washed over Eduardo as he understood Aku was not bluffing. These worries were raised when he witnessed Ray slowly marching towards one of his own. "Armando!"

Alberto studied the match with his team sitting beside him. "We have only two members left. Sonny and Bee-Bee's skills cannot compare to that of Ray. Someone else should take on this role.

Blu stood beside Rafael as the friends watched Ray pass them. Neither of them dared try to stop him, knowing their own strength could not compare to them. It was up to someone else to defeat him. "Aku said Ray was taking out the strongest warriors...That includes Armando!"

Armando stood his ground as Ray approached him, slowly but surely. Outside, Armando appeared rather calm but inside, he was shaking. Ray had just completely mopped the floor with Bruno, someone twice their size. How could he possible stand a chance?! Then again, if Ray considered Armando someone he was needed for, then maybe he stood a chance after all.

Ray ceased his march, standing a mere foot away from Armando. The two fighters stared the other day, their eyes filled with determination. Armando appeared more calmer out of the two while Ray was clearly eager to get this on with. The other fighters held their tongue in anticipation as Armando finally made the first move.

With a yell of determination, Armando begun throwing rather slower punches then usually. Ray raised one wing and calmly deflected each one with ease, not surprising since Armando's slow punches made it too easy.

"I don't get it," Felipe admitted as he turned towards Eduardo nearby. "Hey Eddie, why's your guy throwing slow punches? He's faster than that!"

"I know," Eduardo responded. "Armando is a trained fighter. He's testing Ray, trying to determine how much power he is going to use to defeat him. As of now, he's testing how long it takes Ray to respond to his attacks."

"True masters of martial-arts always want to bring out their opponent's potential," Alberto added as he studied their fights with curiosity. "Armando's punches at max speed surpass that of a normal bird, but if this Ray can react quicker, the rest of the teams may be in trouble."

With an understanding of strong Ray truly was, Armando knew it was time to fight seriously. With a grunt and tightening his fists, Armando lunged and begun his assault, rapidly putting the beat down against Ray. The military macaw had both wings crossed in a defensive pattern, blocking most of the strikes. Armando did not let up on his attack, rapidly throwing punch left, right and centre.

"Armando's got him on the ropes!" Felipe cheered, but then it dawned on him that he was cheering for the wrong team. He leaned back with his wings crossed. "Not that I care, of course."

"Don't be too certain, Felipe," Eduardo warned. "Notice that Ray has taken a single hit yet."

Armando continued his offensive attack until he could see the edge of the ring coming into view. He scoffed to himself, wondering what exactly it was about this guy that everyone was worried about. " _He's not even fighting back! Master of defensive, no doubt!_ "

"Armando has this fight handled!" Rafael cheered while applauding. "Way to go, amigo!"

What happened next caught every fighter off by surprise. As Armando continued his fight, Ray suddenly broke off and slammed his wing directly into Armando's face, followed with a sharp quick that launched the lear macaw into the air.

"Armando!" Blu exclaimed as he moved to help, only to be stopped when Anton placed his wing out, followed with a shook of his head. Blu was intentionally ready to fight, but then it dawned on him that Anton wouldn't have even bothered making himself noticed if he had intended to fight. For now, everyone was eager.

Armando caught his footing and landed in the centre of the stage, followed with grunts of agony to where he had been struck. "He hits like a truck! Don't forget that's gonna throw me off, buddy. HIYA!"

Armando charged, beginning to throw another barrage of punches. This time, Ray was not messing around and deflected each one. With each wing he pushed away, he would counter with blows to Armando's torso, swift and powerful that they felt like being stabbed. Armando kept his offensive up, but no amount of punching power could past Ray's defensive.

"He's getting killed out there!" Roberto noted with concern. He stood up, placing both wings to his beak. "Armando! Stop fighting, you can't beat him!"

Whenever Armando couldn't hear him or simply ignored Roberto's advice was unknown. Either way, Armando did not and continued his pointless punches, desperately trying to create an opponent. Growing frustrated, Armando restored to kicking as well. Ray was clearly not caught off guard, pushing away each attack like they were nothing.

Knowing that time was short, Ray pushed both of Armando's wings away with perfect synchronisation. Followed by this, Ray punched Armando across the face and then slamming his other wing into his stomach, winding Armando greatly. Armando tumbled over, but the merciless Ray forced him back onto his feet and unleashed a furry of punches, each one landing in the most vulnerable areas.

"Contestant Armando is getting slaughtered!" Porcupine Game Announcer exclaimed in concern.

"The other fighters have all stopped their own matches to watch as well!" Tapir Game Announcer added.

Jewel barely struggled to keep himself contained, growling as he wanted to step in and help. Christine stood nearby, watching with pure shock and concern for her new friend. "That does it! I'm stepping in!"

Christine leaped forward and restrained the feisty macaw with both wings. "Jewel, you can't!"

"Let me go!" Jewel demanded as she struggle. "I'm not letting Armando get hurt like that! We're a team, and teams stick together!"

"Even so, do you really think you'll fair any better?!" Christine responded, her words had finally sunken into the blue macaws mind.

Armando had never felt so much pain in all of his life. The fight with Simon breaking his wing a year ago felt like child's play. It wasn't until a full twenty seconds passed that Ray finally ceased attacking. Armando released a cry of agony, falling to the ground as coughs of blood left his beak.

"Oh dear," Mimi said as he covered Tiago, Bia and Carla's eyes.

Ray wasn't done yet. Grabbing Armando by the scruff of his head feathers, he lifted him up and looked his opponent dead in the eyes. "It's over."

Without another word to spare, Ray tossed Armando across the air, watching as the lifeless macaw flung towards the edge of the ring. Ray calmly turned around, crossing his wings with a satisfied look. One warrior done. Only two more remained who were worthy of his time.

Eduardo couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. Armando, one of the strongest members of team blue macaw had just been taken out like it was nothing. "No...How could...How could Ray be so strong?"

"You understand now, Eduardo," Aku responded with a small grin. "As I said before: no warrior can match up to Ray's strength."

Eduardo wouldn't deny his worry, but nevertheless, he kept calm and confident in front of Aku and turned away from him. "We will see, Ray."

Felipe butted into their conversation to point out the obvious. "Hey Eddie, how come Armando hasn't returned to the stands yet?"

That's when Eduardo realized that Armando's name hadn't actually been called out yet. Watching with a strong expression, his hopes risen as he saw Armando clutching the edge of the ring with only one wing, barely hanging on. "He's still in!"

Blue macaw team could also see this, but had no way of helping Armando up without getting past Ray first. Armando was in agony, felt as if multiple bees had just stung him at once. With one strong pull of might, Armando returned to the stage. He stood firm, one wing around his injured torso.

"Would you look at that?" Tapir Game Announcer cheered. "Contestant Armando is still in the game!"

Ray turned around slowly, not even the slightest bit concerned. For the first time since this tournament begun, he finally spoke. "He's persistent, I'll give him that."

Between pants and grunts of pain, Armando prepared himself for a fight. He raised his free wing and wiped a small amount of blood from his beak. "That all you got?"

"Is he crazy?!" AJ exclaimed. "I don't even like him and I'm worried! Dude, take a hint!"

Remit nearby chuckled in amusement. "Whenever he decides to stay down or fall out doesn't matter. Ray will soon dispose of him-ARH!"

With a swift strike, AJ punches Remit directly in his face. Satisfied for the time being, AJ continued to watch the fight unfold. Remit grunted as he rubbed his face, but let it go for the time being. Soon, that wouldn't matter.

Armando turned towards Christine, whom looked terrified for his safety. With a small smile, he winked to assure her he would be fine. Turning back towards Ray, he gathered his footing and with a strong push, he charged directly towards him as fast as his talons would carry him.

"Your friend is going to get hurt," Sonny noted as the gap between them got closer.

"He knows what he's doing!" Rafael quickly responded before muttering: "I hope he does anyway!"

Releasing a roar of determination, Armando lunged forward with both wings. He threw one that Ray easily deflected, but the second landed a successful hit against Ray's face, striking him with his full punch.

"He got him!" Roberto cheered.

What little hope they had soon vanished. Armando's eyes widened as Ray didn't even flinch at being punched directly in the face. He now realized the true extend of Ray's strength. Quicker than meets the eye, Ray grasped Armando by throat via his talon before lifting him into the air. Now at his mercy once again, this time Ray intended for Armando to stay down for the count. He slammed his wing directly into Armando's face, causing his entire eye to swell up and sharp pains to return. Using his free talon to gain some momentum, Ray leaped into the air and spun, tossing Armando towards the edge of the ring yet again.

Multiple thoughts raced around Armando's thoughts as he felt his body collided with the edge of the stage. How was Ray so strong?! How did he take an attack like without flinching at the slightest? Did Armando even have a chance to begin with, or was Ray simply toying with him. Refusing to stay down, Armando once again caught the edge of the ring, hanging on for dear life.

"Armando, no!" Eduardo pleaded. "Please, stay down!"

Unfortunately, Ray was already ready for this. He stood over the defeated Armando and without another word, he stumped on Armando's wing, watching as he collapsed to the ground.

"Contestant Armando from team blue macaw is out!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared.

"And he is in need of medical aid!" Tapir Game Announcer added.

A few birds were already on their way and had Armando lifted out of there in no time. His injuries were too serious to be left unattended. Needless to say, this wasn't the only consequence. All the fighters that were not a part of team military looked terrified, shocked that Ray had just plummeted someone like that with so little ease. Their fears were higher than before, but their will to fight had not gone just yet.

As Ray prepared to locate his next target, he suddenly jolted his right wing, catching the punch from his attacker. Without turning his head, he addressed the person brave or foolish enough to try and catch him off guard. "Bat of team scarlet...What do you think you are doing?"

"My job," Anton responded while he kept his wing remained locked against Ray's.

Blu's beak was left open as he witnessed the events unfold. "Armando's gone now. It's down to us to win the tournament. For the clan, for my family...For Armando and Roberto."

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5! Now we have finally seen the power that Ray from team military possess, making short work of Armando and Bruno like they were nothing. How will they possible stand up to him? Next chapter will have the answers you seek.**_

 _ **Time remaining: 9 minutes**_

 _ **Members left:**_

 _ **Team blue macaw: 3**_

 _ **Team scarlet macaw: 4**_

 _ **Team military macaw: 3**_

 _ **Team lear macaw: 1**_

 _ **Team red-bellied macaw: 2**_


	6. True strength!

**_Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament_**

 ** _Greetings fellow Rio readers and writers. We are back with the next chapter! By the way, feel free to ask any questions you have for the story and I'll happily answer!_**

* * *

The crowd held their tongues as Armando was carried away from the arena. Meanwhile, their eyes were focused on the fight about to occur between the Anton and Ray, the two strongest warriors of their team. After witnessing the brutal and swift attacks from Ray, would any other fighter dare to challenge him? Anton was either confident or stupid to try and do such a thing.

AJ was the first to break the silence everyone shared. "Hey! This is still a tournament, we're suppose to be fighting-HAUG!"

Remit slammed his foot into AJ's face, knocking him away as payback. "I agree. Shall we continue?"

The other fighters did so, but it was clear their attention was half-focused on Ray. They would no doubt need to keep their defences up against him, knowing they could not last long against someone of his strength. Maybe they wouldn't have to. If anyone stood a chance against Ray, it was Anton.

Felipe nervously bit his wingtips, trying to keep calm under incredible pressure. "I can't believe he did that to Armando! Poor guy didn't even stand a chance."

"We'll be fine, boss," Enrico reassured with a confident smile. "We got Anton on our team! Ray doesn't what he's in for!"

Felipe wished he could share his enthusiasm, but even he had doubts Anton could win. The crowd watched as Anton retracted his wing, calmly moving it to his side as Ray turned towards him. With his incredible swift speed, Ray threw a punch first. Anton raised both wings and barely blocked. He performed a back flip closer towards the centre of the stage to avoid any unnecessary risks, landing firmly on his feet. It was not long until Ray slowly marched towards him.

Jewel ducked to avoid one of Christine's fists, countering with two jabs to her torso before putting some distance between them. She remained as calm as possible, hiding her secret fear that she refused to show to anyone.

"You're scared, right?" Christine assumed sincerely.

Jewel frowned. "I'm not scared of anyone!"

"It's okay," Christine assured gently. "I'm scared, too. Ray is not someone we shouldn't take lightly. As long as your team sticks together, they'll be okay."

Jewel wished she could believe that. Even if herself, Blu and Rafael all took on Ray together, she doubted they could even last ten-seconds against him before he mopped the floor with them. Her only hope was if someone else defeated him first.

The gap between Anton and Ray closed as they both stood only a foot away from the other. Both fighters stared the other down, eyes filled with concentration and determination. Two warriors, legends of their teams were about to fight. This was a battle only one of them could win. As a few seconds passed, Anton made the first move and struck, his wing blocked by Ray's by ease. Before long, the punches begun to be exchanged.

"Get him, Anton!" Felipe cheered. His voice didn't sound arrogant, but out of actual praise and determination.

Anton repeatedly moved around Ray, hoping to throw him off guard with his swift movements. No matter where he would strike or where he would move, it was like Ray was one step ahead. Anton's senses allowed him to avoid the strongest of blows, but it was going to take more than that to take down Ray. He threw whatever strikes he could, being the first to actually land hits Ray. They did little to no effect, however.

Aku observed the fight from the stands, rubbing one wing under his chin. "Tup."

"Yeah?"

"That fighter, Anton. He's doing surprisingly well against Ray. What can you tell me about him other than the known facts?"

Tup crossed his wings as he narrowed his eyes towards said bat. "His experience have lead to become one of the strongest and fastest fighters there is. He also has the ability to adapt; getting to know a fighter's abilities and weaknesses with ease. That adaptation led to my own defeat."

Aku took everything he had to say into consideration. "Ray has no weakness, but Anton is not someone to underestimate. I have no doubt this fight will be over soon."

Anton repeatedly moved between Ray, jumping over him, sliding around and side-stepping, but no matter what he did, he could not land anymore successful hits without risk to his own safety. Anton had more stamina than anyone combined, but one mistake would cost him dearly. He had to think of something new before one of Ray's teammates stepped in or if the military macaw was hiding anymore power.

With his attacks proving ineffective, Anton broke off and landed a few feet away from Ray, gathering himself for a moment. "His speed...His reactions...Incredible."

"Give up" Ray spoke with a small gruff. "It is futile. Do you intend to beat me?"

Anton did not take his eyes away for a second, keeping his concentration fully focused on the military macaw. "I do. I defeated your speed ally and I will do the same for you."

Ray scoffed.

Felipe felt his worries ease as Anton continued his fight against Ray. "He's doing it! Anton's actually on par with this guy!"

"Felipe!" Eduardo called from nearby. He lowered his voice slightly to avoid Aku from hearing. "Listen, as much as I hate to admit it, Anton may be the only who can take Ray down. I don't want my son-in-law or my daughter going against that guy."

Felipe was slightly taken back that Eduardo was trusting him with telling him this information, revealing his inner weakness. He sighed in agreement. "I'm afraid so. Don't worry, Anton isn't my ace warrior for nothing. He'll crush that guy as soon as he finds a weakness."

Rafael resumed his fight against Sonny, trying to find an opening that he could take advantage. Unfortunately, he was beginning to grow weaker while Sonny was looking fired up and ready for more.

Sonny kneed Rafael in his stomach, followed with an uppercut. His plan half-backfired as Rafael's beak hit him without intention, knocking the stunned Sonny backwards. He regained his footing, calmly wiping his face. "Not bad at all."

"I really need a vacation," Rafael wished while rubbing his head.

"Your attacks are uncoordinated, yet effective," Sonny noted curiously. "Strange."

Rafael chuckled. "I was always more of a dancer than a fighter, amigo. After all, wouldn't have met my wife without them."

Said wife was sitting in the stands, watching her husband fight with some difficulty. Eva didn't doubt his abilities, but she grew concerned for his well-being. Rafael glanced at her and offered a sympathetic smile before turning back towards the stage.

"Indeed," Sonny agreed. "But I'm afraid this is where it ends. I can tell you are tiring. Please, there is no shame in loosing. You fight well."

Inhaling a deep breath, Rafael spread both wings open, leaving himself exposed. "You're right, amigo."

Nodding, Sonny took a step backward and pushed himself forward, striking Rafael directly in his face and watching as he fell backwards before tripping from the stage. While intentionally relived, Sonny's eyes widened in horror as he felt Rafael's talon grab his own. He couldn't react fast enough as he was dragged from the stage, both fighters landing on the ground.

"Contestants Rafael and Sonny from team blue and team red-bellied are out!" Tapir Game Announcer declared. "Another double knockout."

Sonny recovered himself, disappointed that he fell for such a cheap tactic. He stood over the defeated Rafael whom was expecting a very angry bird to attack him despite being out of the fight. Instead, Sonny offered him his wing. "Well played, toucan of team blue. You have my respect."

Rafael was surprised by the kind gesture, but didn't deny and accepted his wing, standing to his feet. The crowd applauded both fighters for their brave fight and mature attitude.

"Would you like at that, folks?" Porcupine Game Announcer cheered. "Nothing like a good show of friendly sports!"

Rafael took his seat with Roberto on the stands. As he sat down, he received a peck from Eva sitting above before Eduardo had his own mind to speak. During their time together, Eduardo and Rafael had rarely spoke to each other.

"Rafael," Eduardo addressed him sternly before raising a small smile. "Excellent work."

The toucan nodded as a thanks. In the meantime, Sonny returned to his own team, receiving similar praise from his leader and teammates. Despite his own self-doubt, they reasurred him that he did the best he could.

"We have only one member left," Alberto noted. "I am afraid Bee-Bee is no match for Ray. My calculations show that the only way of success now is for her to hold out, but then that runs the risk of the time running out and another team has more members. We have lost, let us prepare to accept defeat with honour."

With more than half the time gone from the tournament, the two announcer decided it was the right time to perform some commentary. Porcupine Game Announcer took the lead first. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now more than halfway in the tournament and would like to offer some status. According to our coach, we have a total of eleven contestants left. Team blue have two, team scarlet on four, team military on three and team lear and red-bellied on one."

"And we still have multiple fighters giving it their all!" Tapir Game Announcer as he observed the fight closely. "We have Blu VS Rajesh, Jewel VS Christine, Anton VS Ray, AJ and Carlos VS Remit and Mariana VS Bee-Bee! These fights are spectacular, but I think we can all agree on what the real highlight is!"

"That's right!" Porcupine Game Announcer agreed. "Anton the legendary bat VS Ray the bird of destruction. I came up with that myself!"

Gripping his wings tightly with a concentrated look, Anton leaped into action once again. He repeatedly jumped around Ray, throwing punch after punch that landed unsuccessfully. Ray would block each one before countering with his own attacks. Anton was not quick enough to land any attacks between strikes, forced to keep moving to avoid taking damage.

Ray continued deflecting until he slammed his wing against Anton, swatting him into the air. Anton had blocked the attack from hitting directly, but the force had launched him into the air. He made certain not to fly, landing safely on his feet before steadying himself with a defensive stance.

With his back turned to Anton, Ray calmly addressed him without looking. "How many times will you repeat this?"

Anton did not reply, keeping his calm and collective mind. "No single opening in his attacks...His stance is perfect...I cannot beat him this way..."

Blu avoided most of Rajesh's fists as took steps back to avoid injuries. With the threat of Ray and the elimination of Armando, Blu stepped his game up and was actually fighting more seriously than before. Rather than just avoid, Blu countered with any attacks possible, jabbing Rajesh in any possible areas. Eduardo caught notice of this and was impressed by his son-in-law's determination. However, his new strategy wouldn't save him forever.

"Will you confront or avoid?" Rajesh questioned as he delivered with a slight kick to Blu's hip "You dare call yourselves warriors?"

Blu rubbed his injury before answering. "You're right...I'm not a warrior. I'm not even an amazon bird! Heck, I spent half my life in America! But I've learned a lot since coming to Rio. I learned courage, pride, friendship, love and most importantly...Nothing is impossible. I've faced countless odds in my life and sometimes I lacked confidence to do them. But my family give me the strength to fight on. I won't fail them!"

Rajesh only chuckled to his words. "Sounds like something from some cheesy Disney movie. So "Warrior", shall we continue?"

With a quick strike, Rajesh threw another strike, only for his eyes to widened as Blu ducked before slamming both wings into his stomach, followed with a combination of kicks. Rajesh was forced back as he desperately tried to break off his attack. Refusing to fall to a mere blue macaw, Rajesh caught Blu's talon and proceeded to trip him down, followed with stomping on his stomach and causing Blu to release a loud grunt.

Rajesh kept his foot pinned against Blu, slowly applying more pressure down as he took pleasure in watching him suffer. "Simply give up and I'll happily throw you from the stage."

Blu placed both wings on his talon and desperately tried to push him away, to no avail. "No! I won't...I won't give up!"

Rajesh only grinned further. He was so caught up in the moment that he failed to nearby threat. Out of the corner of his eye, AJ had kicked him away, knocking Rajesh a feet away. Blu made haste to recover, but was surprised to see AJ not attacking him.

"That's for saving Anton," AJ explained while he prepared himself against Remit nearby. "We're even now."

Blu merely nodded while the younger fighter leaped away. Turning towards Rajesh, he stood firmly and prepared to continue fighting. "I'm not done yet!"

Growing tired with going on the defensive, Ray lunged forward and begun a furry of his punches, faster than anyone would have dared possible. Anton raised his wings and with the best of his ability, he blocked the attacks with the use of his senses and strength, but he could not avoid ever blow. Eventually, Ray put too much pressure on and broke through, landing a strong blow that launched Anton backwards.

"NO!" Felipe screeched.

Anton slid across the stage, barely gaining his footing as he grunted. He calmly panted, refusing to show any sort of weakness. That blow hurt more than anything in the world, leaving him barely standing without showing any pain. Keeping calm, Anton scanned his opponent while trying to plan out his next move. "His abilities are not to be underestimated. I have one chance to injure him...It is risky..."

"Anton!"

Nearby, Mariana leaped over as she briefly broke off her fight against Bee-Bee. Calmly brushing her wing through her hair feathers, she turned towards the bat. "Need help?"

"No," Anton responded rather quickly and stood firm. "You would only get in my way. Besides, you have your own fighter to deal with."

Mariana frowned and opened her beak to say something, only to leap back as Bee-Bee advanced. She clashed wings with the other fighter while they moved away. In the meantime, Anton charged towards Ray and restored to the same tactic again: leaping around and trying to land whatever hits possible. Unsurprisingly, Ray blocked each one with ease.

Alberto observed the fight with the rest of his eliminated team. "The warrior Anton has lasted longer against Ray than Armando has...His battle experience no doubt explains that. Yet why does he continue to repeat the same tactic? Ray's speed is far superior!"

Aku noted this as well, raising a curious eyebrow. After putting two and two together, he finally came to a conclusion. "I see. Tup, I am assuming you see this?"

"Yes, sir," Tup nodded. "Anton is adapting to Ray, trying to figure out how to break past his defences ."

"It won't do him any good," Maria added confidently. "Ray cannot be defeated. Anton may try to adapt, but he will never find an opening in Ray's fighting style."

"You're wrong," Aku disagreed, watching both their attention. "Anton has proven time and time again he can adapt to a fighter's abilities. He's not trying to predict Ray's fighting style, but his speed instead."

Maria couldn't avoid asking the obvious. "But why would he do that? Even if he somehow adjusts to how fast Ray can move, he'll never be able to get close and hurt him."

"We will see, Maria," Aku responded rather quietly. "We will see."

Anton continued his attack until finally breaking off, landing a few feet away from Ray. Landing on his feet, he calmly stood while crossing his wings, narrowing his eyes carefully towards the military macaw.

Ray calmly wiped a small amount of dust from his wing, all while keeping his eyes focused on his enemy. "How many times will you try this? When will you learn that it is no use to fight me?"

Anton did not respond. Positioning himself carefully, he boosted from the ground and charged straight past Ray, sliding under his wing swipe. Ray turned and threw his wing forward to attack. This time, however, Anton was the one who struck first. Everyone's eyes watched in awe as Anton landed a swift and powerful blow in the centre of Ray's wing, completely dislocating out of place. Some of the crowd covered their eyes in horror while others were left in shock.

None were more surprised than Aku who leaped out of his seat for a better view. "Impossible!"

"Contestant Anton has dislocated Ray's wing!" Porcupine Game Announcer said in shock, having to turn towards his colleague for advice. "Is that allowed?"

Tapir Game Announcer was already speaking to the coach about this before he answered. "There are no rules on brutal force in this battle royale. As far as we are concerned, nothing has been broken. Well, not counting Ray's wing, of course!"

Felipe cheered loudly, applauding with pride. "Yes! Yes! You got him, Anton!"

Surprisingly, Ray did not release a cry of pain despite the severe agony shooting through his dislocated wing, merely grunting. With his defence lowered, Anton did not hesitate to begin his signature attack. He struck Ray directly in the face, followed with delivering a furry of punches with his boxing style, each one slowly knocking Ray towards the edge of the stage.

"He's getting pushed back!" Eduardo stated with glee. "Anton's gonna do it!"

Blu had ceased his fight with Rajesh, whom remained in concern that their strongest warrior was getting pushed back. Despite being on different teams, Blu silently cheered for the bat. "You can do it, Anton...You can do it."

As the edge of the stage came closer into view, Anton lunged forward and gave one final, strong blow towards Ray, knocking him backwards. Ray caught his footing right at the edge, barely keeping his feet on. He tensed one wing in anger while the other remained limp from being dislocated.

"It's over," Anton stated and prepared to finish it. "Jump off or I will throw you off."

Ray did not respond as he frowned towards Anton, eyes filled with anger. Realising that he had no intention of falling willingly, Anton leaped forward with one wing raised, intending to knock him off. His fist came close to colliding, but he did not expect Ray to have suddenly raised his working wing and catch Anton's wing.

Everyone's beaks dropped as Ray raised his dislocated wing and popped it back into place like it was nothing, completely restoring the use of his wing. Anton quickly tried to move, but Ray was not letting him go. With his free wing restored, Ray slammed his wing into Anton's stomach. Lifting Anton up by his wing, Ray proceeded to beat him down with one wing, his powerful blows causing Anton great pain.

"NO!" Felipe screamed.

"Anton, break free!" AJ pleaded as he moved to help, only to be blocked by Remit. Growling, AJ proceeded to try and punch his way past. "Get out of my way! Carlos!"

The gigantic bird moved to help, but his large size made it difficult to get there in time. He did not get far as Rajesh leaped up and struck him in the eye, preventing him from helping. Mariana was also blocked by Bee-Bee, leaving Anton to suffer without any of his teammates to assist.

After dealing too many blows for the counter, Ray lifted the defeated Anton in front of his face. "It's over."

Without another word, Ray threw Anton backwards over his shoulder, crossing his wings with his eyes closed shortly afterwards. Felipe watched in horror as his ace fighter flung through the air, landing on the ground with a strong thud while he remained in agony.

"Contestant Anton from team scarlet is out!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared.

Aku grinned in satisfaction. "Excellent work, Ray. Teams blue and scarlet did not stand a chance in the tournament, though it is not like they did in the first place."

Despite his injuries, Anton refused any help from the arena attendants. Instead, he got up under his own strength and joined the rest of his team, sitting with his wings crossed and eyes closed. "I have failed...I am sorry."

Rather than be met with yells, Felipe instead raised a small smile. "You did great out there, Anton. I'm proud of you. I am sure AJ, Carlos and Mariana can still win this."

Eduardo was surprised at Felipe's maturity despite just loosing his ace fighter. Turning back towards the arena, he watched as Ray slowly stepped away from edge of the stage, approaching the final of his targets: Carlos. Two warriors down and one to go who was worthy of his time. Surprisingly, the other fighters continued their own battles despite what they had just watched.

"Interesting," Aku noted. "Each of them have witnessed Ray's strength, yet their will to fight remains."

Eduardo remained concerned as he watched Blu and Jewel clashed with their respective fighters. "Seven minutes until the tournament ends. I hope you both can hold on until then. The victory of team rests on your feathers now."

* * *

 _ **Chapter 6! If anyone thought Ray was strong before, they certainly know better now. Anton the legendary bat has been eliminated, robbing team scarlet of their ace warrior. With so little time remaining, how will this end for our fighters? Keep your updates open for more.**_

 _ **Time remaining: 7 minutes**_

 _ **Members left:**_

 _ **Team blue macaw: 2**_

 _ **Team scarlet macaw: 3**_

 _ **Team military macaw: 3**_

 _ **Team lear macaw: 1**_

 _ **Team red-bellied macaw: 1**_


	7. Double elimination!

_**Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament**_

 _ **Hiya everyone, back with the next chapter. Not long until we get to the end. This may have been out sooner, but due to lack of reviews and FanFiction servers errors, it was delayed.**_

* * *

Blu could only watch in horror as Anton was eliminated from the tournament. Impossible! This was the same bat that had defeated both himself and Roberto one year before without using much of his full strength. Against Ray, he was knocked away like he was nothing. How strong was this military macaw?

Rajesh noted Blu's worried look and chuckled in amusement. "Impressive sight, is it not?"

Blu frowned and turned towards him. "I won't let Anton's sacrifice by in vain."

"Is that right?" Rajesh scoffed. "Look around you: you and your wife are the only two left in your team. Even if by some miracle you got past myself and Remit, you would never stand a chance against Ray. Strength, speed, timing, skill, none of that matters against Ray. A small part of me would like to lose just to see the look on your face if you confronted Ray."

"I won't give up, I don't care how strong Ray is!" Blu raised his voice, alerting a couple of the fighters around him with his yell. "I'm fighting to the end!"

While walking away from his victory, Ray was one of the few who overheard this. Curiously, he looked over towards the blue macaw fighting against Rajesh. Aku had spoken quite ill of the blue macaw clan, explaining that their warriors were of little skill. Yet they were doing surprisingly well against all expectations. The one they called Blu was holding his own quite well against Rajesh while Jewel had defeated Maria with cunning strategy.

Suffice to say, Aku may have been wrong.

Nevertheless, Ray was not concerned in the slightest. Narrowing his eyes, he spotted his target standing in the centre of the stage: Carlos. The final warrior he was needed for. With his usual stern look, Ray slowly approached the taller warrior with the intent of eliminating quickly.

Nearby, AJ was not happy in the slightest that his ally had just been taken out. Since their first meeting, AJ had became quite fond of the bat, considering him one of his friends. He growled and prepared to take on Ray himself. "That monster! I'm gonna kill him!"

Remit was already one step ahead, blocking his way to his target. "Not so fast, kid. You can just about hold your own against me. Ray will only fight those he considers worthy of his team, and you are definitely not worthy."

"Oh, yeah?!" AJ snarled and tightened his wingtips. "I'll go through you first then! Bring it!"

As Eduardo watched the events unfold with Roberto at his side, his eyes widened as a familiar face joined them. He turned and addressed their old friend with excitement and relief. "Armando!"

The lear macaw had returned to the stands, now with bandages wrapped around his torso and an eye patch over his right eye. He groaned slightly as he took a seat beside his allies.

"How are you feeling?" Roberto inquired.

"Like I need a drink," Armando responded while he rubbed one wing over the back of his head. "I miss much?"

"Ray has just defeated Anton," Eduardo sighed crossing his wings. Seriously, he addressed the fellow fighters beside him. "I am proud of you all for giving it you're all, especially you Armando. This, however, is where we accept our loss."

His admit of defeat had certainly surprised them. Roberto looked shocked, Rafael confused while Armando questioned him. "You can't be serious, right? I don't mean to be rude, pops but Blu and Jewel are still in the tournament. We haven't lost yet."

Eduardo disagreed without hesitation. "I don't doubt their abilities, but even if they outlast everyone else, they won't stand a chance against Ray. He's too strong, too fast and I doubt he has any morals with hurting others. I...I...I don't want to see them get hurt, all right!?"

His sudden outburst had not gone unnoticed by others. Felipe who's team were sitting to the right of team blue macaw a few feet apart, couldn't help but sympathise. Felipe had no children, but he had a sister whom he was concerned for. And while he was not related to the rest of his team, he cared for them just as much. AJ was like a younger brother to him despite their somewhat tense relationship.

Aku noted this and chuckle in amusement. "Weakness. Something that the military macaws will never have."

Amy caught this and after ignoring his words for so long, she finally reached her limit and spoke her mind. "Maybe you could appreciate family and friendship if you actually had a heart!"

Taking offence to her insult, Maria stood up and raised her wings in a challenging matter. "You want to repeat that to my face?!"

Dropping her usual enthusiastic personality, Amy stood and prepared to fight her. "Happily!"

Fortunately, Bruno had placed both wings around her to stop her from making a costly decision. Maria was about to charge until Tup placed one wing against her shoulder, escorting her back to the seat. The coach had stepped over shortly afterwards. "There will be no fighting outside of the ring! Anyone breaks this, your team will be disqualified from the tournament. Please, sit."

Their odds were not already looking good with Christine was their remaining fighting, but she did not intend to leave her team with a bad reputation. Inhaling a deep breath, Amy thanked Bruno from stopping her before sitting back down and resuming her attention to the stage.

Tup practically forced Maria back down before she lost her temper again. "Settle down, Maria. We haven't come this far in the tournament to lose in a petty rivarly."

Alberto observed their brief class and sighed. "Hostilities are brewing in both the stage and the stands. It will not be long before fall out occurs."

After focusing his attention towards Anton for most of the fight, Felipe decided to check on his sister. Mariana was holding her own well against Bee-Bee, using her acrobatic skills to throw the red-bellied macaw off guard. Like her brother, Mariana had a fierce personality and was very competitive when it came to sports. However, she had some control over herself and never allowed her pride to put the rest of her clan at risk.

Mariana blocked a kick from Bee-Bee, countering with a kick that forced her opponent backwards. Unwilling to give any space, Mariana continued with a furry of kicks. Unlike the other females present, her fighting style consisted of using her feet more than her actual wings.

Bee-Bee noticed this too and anticipated the next kick, catching it with one wing. "You're style is impressive, but your movements are too predictable-OMPH!"

Impatient, Mariana had leaped with her free talon, using it to gain some momentum before kicking Bee-Bee under her beak. Mariana performed a back flip mid-air to steady herself, landing gracefully with ease. Placing her wings on her hips, she smugly grinned. "You talk too much."

Bee-Bee kept her cool, calmly recovering her energy. She raised both wings in front as a barrier, preparing to defend. "I seem to be in quite the predicament."

"You're now figuring that out," Mariana replied with a hint of sarcasm. Spreading her wings, she demonstrated the area around them. "Look around. My team and the military macaws are tied, team blue is down to two and both you and the lear are down to one member left. You can't win."

Bee-Bee was well aware of the situation. "It is never early to admit defeat. We have been fighting for over three minutes, and neither of us have gained an advantage. We're evenly matched. May I make a recommendation?"

Mariana didn't like being considered an equal, but she was curious all the same. She crossed her wings and tilted her head curiously. "Go on?"

Alberto watched his remaining fighter from the stands, curious as to what she was up to. "She appears to be negotiating."

"We have witnessed what the military team is capable of," Bee-Bee remained quite obviously. "We have witnessed Ray's strength. I cannot beat him and neither can you. You can choose to admit it or not, but the stakes remain the same. If you would consider it, we could focus on a common foe. Interested?"

Needless to say, a small part of Mariana was interested to her offer. "Tempting," however, it wasn't long before her pride took over. "But no dice. Call it a matter of trust and loyalty."

Bee-Bee wasn't at all surprised that her offer was rejected. "As you wish. Shall we continue then before our fans grow restless?"

"Now that I can agree on," Mariana nodded and prepared to charge.

The two fighters charged and continued their fight. Bee-Bee was in no means a weakling in her clan, but the relentless attacks from Mariana made it difficult. Using her intelligence, she calculated her opponents attacks to determine any possible weakness. It wasn't long until Bee-Bee finally blocked her wing and followed with a kick to her stomach.

Mariana received the first kick but leaned back to avoid the second. As Bee-Bee threw a third, Mariana caught it within her wing. Now caught, Mariana followed with spinning a one-hundred and eight degrees and released shortly after, allowing Bee-Bee to flung through the air. Without any mercy, Mariana followed and kicked Bee-Bee mid-air.

Struck in mid-air and unable to stop herself without flying, Bee-Bee watched as the ground beneath her came into view, the edge of the stage followed. Realising her defeat was inevitable, she closed her eyes as the collapsed towards the ground, landing with a small thud.

"Contestant Bee-Bee from team red-bellied is out!" Tapir Game Announcer declared. "And with her elimination, team red-bellied is officially out!"

Bee-Bee stood, her head lowered in ashamed of her defeat. She joined the rest of her team, the first to be eliminated from the battle royale.

Alberto tapped her back for comfort. "Don't beat yourself up, Bee-Bee. You fought well."

"You did your best, at least you weren't the first eliminated like I was," Brian agreed. His comment earned him a nudge from Tony. "Ow. What?"

With the stakes riding, others were beginning to place small bets on who they would believe would be next out.

"Five berries that AJ's next," Nico said confidently.

"Man, if anyone's going to be next, it'll be that Rajesh," Pedro disagreed.

As Christine ducked to avoid another one of Jewel's kicks, a familiar face in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She stopped, turning her attention towards the stands. "Armando! He's okay!"

Jewel glanced quickly and was relieved to see he was injured but otherwise fine. Though she was glad, Jewel refused to let that end their fight. "We're not finished."

Christine held up her wing before Jewel could advance. "We've been fighting for a while now and neither one of us has gained much ground. Jewel, look around us. All of my team are gone and your own team isn't far from going as well. No matter the outcome, I don't want to see team military win this tournament. What happens next year when other clans are too disheartened to try and fight? Yourself, Blu and team scarlet are the only hope we have of beating him. That's why I have made my decision."

Jewel raised her eyebrow in confusion. "I don't understa-"

Her eyes widened as Christine leaped out of the arena on her own accord, landing gracefully on the ground. Jewel couldn't believe that Christine had just put all her faith into the other teams, willing to sacrifice herself like that. That had her respect, as both an ally and a friend.

"Contestant Christine from team lear is out!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared. "And with her elimination, team lear is officially out!"

Christine returned to the stands and was not met with any scolding. Instead, Amy had praised her for her selfless as did the rest of her team. Rather than join her team, she instead sat with team blue macaw and joined Armando specifically. Eduardo was slightly surprised, but said nothing of it and focused his mind on the fight.

"How are you feeling?" Christine inquired as she took one of his wings gently in her own.

"I'll live," Armando assured with a smile. "Thank you for what you did."

Christine only smiled and leaned forward, pecking the side of Armando's beak to which he was not expecting but cherished it either way. Soon enough, their attention was drifted back to the stands as the fights occurred. With both Christine and Bee-Bee eliminated, that only left two girls in the whole tournament remaining.

Jewel turned away from the stands and came face to face with Mariana. Dropping her surprised face to a serious one, she stared down Mariana as the scarlet macaw she stood nearby. "I take it you didn't come to talk."

"So it would seem," Mariana agreed. "Red VS blue. Let's not beat around the bush and just get to the point."

With no more words to exchange, the two leaped towards the other. Meanwhile, Ray had finally reached Carlos. The huge macaw wouldn't deny he was nervous, but that didn't mean he intended to lose.

Putting on his strong face, he slammed his wings together and prepared to stand his ground. "You're going down!"

Ray didn't respond and merely glared towards him with a small frown, not even bothering to put up any sort of defence. His confidence was not misplaced at the slightest.

Blu leaped upwards to avoid Rajesh's talon, landing onto his side as he performed a leg sweep. His leg came into contact, but it did little damage. Instead, the military macaw retaliated by slamming his wing into his stomach.

"HARG!" Rajesh roared and proceeded to unleashed a full-on barrage of punches, each one colliding.

Unable to put up a defence in time, Blu was forced to endure each strike, releasing cries of pain while doing so. Rajesh continued doing so until he was left exhausted from punching so many times.

Between pants, Rajesh gathered his energy to raise his wing for final strike. "There's no escaping me now. Now, get OUT!"

The whole world felt like it slowed down, audiences watching in awe. Members of the blue macaw clan watched in shock while Blu's children had covered their eyes, afraid to watch their father endure anymore punishment. As Rajesh slammed his wing forward for the finishing hit, his eyes widened in surprise.

"What?!"

His heavy injuries and agony had not knocked Blu down for the count. Somehow, he raised one wing and caught Rajesh's fist, stopping the attack. Blu no longer looked nervous. Instead, he was determined and mad. Now Rajesh understood: Blu wanted him to attack, willing to receive the damage in exchange for leaving his opponent tired.

With his free wing, Blu punched Rajesh in the gut followed with a couple of kicks. As the stunned military macaw stumbled, his opponent braced his feet against the ground, preparing to finish this with one blow.

Aku witnessed these events, refusing to believe that one of his elites was going to be defeated by this low-level trash. "Rajesh, do NOT let him force you on the defence! Fight back! An elite like you cannot be defeated by amateur like him!"

Eduardo glanced towards him. "You're wrong, Aku. Your ego has blinded you to the truth: any warrior can be surpassed with enough training, no matter how strong they may be."

His talon held firm against the ground, Blu threw himself forward and tackled Rajesh backwards towards the edge of the stage. Rajesh tried to throw him away, but Blu was refusing to let go.

The edge of the stage came closer into view by the second, all while Rajesh tried to break free. In one final determination, Rajesh kicked Blu and finally freed him from his grasp. Now enraged, he headbutted Blu, causing him to spin. Halfway through this spin, Rajesh restrained him with one wing around his neck while the other around his torso.

Eduardo called out from his seat. "Break out, Blu!"

Aku was also doing the same. "Don't let him go, Rajesh!"

Between grunts, Blu grasped against Rajesh's wings and desperately tried to pry himself free. Rajesh was not letting go, no matter how many strikes he received from now on.

"That was a clever trick of yours," Rajesh admitted, all the while he tightened his grip further. "You have my praise for that. This is where your fight ends, blue macaw."

Blu felt his oxygen being cut by the second, knowing that he couldn't hold out much longer. Either he would pass out or Rajesh would throw him out. Either way, this fight was over for him but that didn't mean he intended to go out empty handed. "Fine!"

Rajesh raised one eyebrow in confusion. That was until he watched Blu raised both feet from the ground. By the time Rajesh realized what was happening, it was too late to counter. Blu slammed his talons into the ground and pushed both of them backwards.

Within seconds, they were off the stage. Both Eduardo and Aku leaped from their seats.

"Blu!"

"Rajesh!"

Upon hearing the name of her mate being called out, Jewel broke off, watching as her love hawk fell out of view. "Blu! NO!"

Both macaws fell from the stage and begun their plummet. Along the way, however, both had found a way to stop their decent. Blu, being the one in front, had grasped the edge of the stage with one wing. Rajesh had fell further, but along the way, he grabbed Blu's talon within his own, hanging upside down.

"Unbelievable!" Tapir Game Announcer exclaimed. "Contestants Blu and Rajesh are hanging on!"

"Until either of them hit the ground, they are still in the game!" Porcupine Game Announcer added.

Blu didn't understand where he was finding the strength to hang on. Combined with his injuries and the extra weight of Rajesh holding onto him, it wouldn't be long before his wing gave out.

Rajesh saw the world from upside down as he leaned his head forward, growling in frustration. "Brave tactic, but foolish all the same."

Blu raised his free talon and tried to kick him away. It was clear Rajesh was determined to take them both out, refusing to let go. "Let go of me!"

"Not a chance," Rajesh responded. "We go together!"

Blu raised his other wing to grab the stage, holding on for dear life. Resorting to his instincts as a wild bird, he raised his other talon and clawed against Rajesh's torso. Unable to tolerate the pain any longer, Rajesh released and fell to the ground back first.

"Contestant Rajesh from team military is out!" Tapir Game Announcer declared.

Rajesh slammed his wing into the ground, pure rage filling within. He wanted to leap up and continue his attack, but in doing so, would cost him dearly. Getting restrained by eagles with the risk of disqualifying his team wasn't a pleasant thought. Instead, he joined the rest of his team, getting an expected scolding from Aku.

"You couldn't even take him with you," Aku said in disappointment. "This is a bad predicament we find ourselves in. Only down to two warriors, but then again, we needn't worry. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, sir," Tup nodded.

"With Ray on our team, we will never fail," Maria added with a small grin, changing her direction towards said macaw who was approaching Carlos. "It will not be long now."

Meanwhile, Blu struggled to pull himself up. Despite getting rid of the extra weight, his injuries combined with previous exhaustion left him weakened. He panted heavily, his wings tiring by the second.

"I can't...Hold on," Blu grunted. He wanted to let go, be free of all this suffering, but he could not. Never was he running from another fight.

As Blu felt his wings tire, his stress changed to relief as he felt his weight lighten and someone holding his wings. He watched in victory as Jewel placed both wings around his torso and helped lifted him onto the stage, saving him from certain failure.

The second he was back on, Jewel did not hesitate to embrace him in the midst of battle. "Blu, are you okay?"

Shaking off the shock of actually remaining on the stage, Blu returned the gesture. "Thank you, Jewel. I'll be okay."

Jewel cherished every second she had free before she was forced to let go. "Rest for a few seconds, Blu. I have a fight of my own."

Planting a small kiss on the side of his beak as a good luck gesture, Jewel leaped away to continue her fight against Mariana. Somehow, she had broken off her fight with the scarlet macaw long enough to save Blu from falling.

Mariana had recovered sooner, but the second she witnessed their brief embrace, she stopped and waited patiently. "Are you done?"

Jewel frowned slightly, but nodded. "I am. And thank you for not attacking."

"Don't get the wrong idea," Mariana responded quickly. "I am here to win and I won't show mercy. But that doesn't mean I'm going to attack someone off guard. I myself enjoy the thrill of a challenge."

Jewel was slightly surprised, but pretended not to care and resumed her guard.

With little time remaining, she had to get a move on and finish this now.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7! Quite a bit has happened in this chapter. Teams lear and red-bellied are now eliminated from the tournament, leaving only three teams** **remaining** **. Any idea on who will win? You'll find out soon.**_

 _ **Time remaining: 5 minutes**_

 _ **Members left:**_

 _ **Team blue macaw: 2**_

 _ **Team scarlet macaw: 3**_

 _ **Team military macaw: 2**_

 _ **Team lear macaw: 0**_

 _ **Team red-bellied macaw: 0**_


	8. Sacrifice!

_**Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament**_

 _ **Here we are with the next chapter, not long now until we reach the end of the tournament.**_

* * *

Little time remained in the battle royale. It was difficult to believe that fifteen minutes ago, there were a total of twenty-five contestants. Over three-quarters of the time passed with four-fifths of the fighters gone.

Only few remained.

The rest of the fighters doubled their efforts as more pressure was placed upon them. Jewel and Mariana rapidly clashed fists with each other, both fighters desperately trying to push past the other.

As if Maria and Christine were not strong enough, Mariana was on a different level. While not was strong as Maria and not as quick as Christine, her relentless fighting is what made her just as dangerous.

Jewel avoided most of her strikes for now, preferring to save what ever energy she had remaining. She was already tired from previous fights and didn't have time to be wasting her breath. Between pants, Jewel desperately tried to create some distance between them, but Mariana was not showing any mercy.

Mariana punched Jewel on the side of her face, harder than before. The force launched Jewel backwards, causing her to release a cry of pain.

Jewel hit the ground of the stage, holding one wing over her left eye. Her sudden yell had not gone unnoticed by her family whom all leaped to their feet in concern. Eduardo watched in concern, followed with Bia, Tiago and Carla.

"Jewel!"

"Mom!"

Blu also watched from nearby, getting to his feet as quickly as possible. He barely struggled to keep himself from falling. "Jewel!"

Eduardo was not going to stand by anymore, preparing to take action. "I'm calling off our team!"

Mimi expected this and stopped her younger brother before he could do so. "Eddie, you can't!"

"My little girl's getting hurt out now!" Eduardo exclaimed as he tried to push past her. Though he was strong, his strength felt like nothing when faced with his older sister.

"I know, but you have to trust in her," Mimi reasurred as she finally got him to relax and sit. "You told Jewel last year that Blu had to make his own decision, you have to let her do the same."

His fatherly instincts said otherwise, but deep down, his heart agreed. With a strong breath of relief, he resumed his position and continued watching with his wings crossed. Mimi returned to the rest of the audience shortly afterwards.

It wasn't long until Mariana had continued her attack. Jewel scrambled to her feet, still holding a single wing to nurse her eye.

Mariana didn't appear too proud of her actions, crossing her wings as she ceased her attack for the time being. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard."

Jewel didn't respond at first, groaning as she moved her wing away. Her left eye was now bruised and slightly swollen, bringing a small sense of déjà vu. "I don't need your sympathy!"

Mariana merely sighed. "Look, you're going to hurt yourself. Just drop out and save yourself from anymore injuries."

Although her sight was slightly compromised combined with exhaustion, her stubbornest kicked it. She raised both wings over her torso in a defence pose, preparing herself.

Mariana sighed, releasing that her opponent didn't have the intention of giving up. Felipe had warned her of this. "Let's get this over with then."

Nearby, the infamous Ray tightened his wings in preparation. Carlos stomped his giant talon towards him, followed with a swipe from his wing. Not surprisingly, Ray dodged them, even hopping on Carlos' wing in the process.

Carlos yelled and threw his wing forward. He only needed to land one hit, one strong blow from his wing would do it. "Keep still!"

Ray avoided each blow with ease, all while keeping his wings crossed. It was as if he wasn't even fighting seriously.

From the stands, Felipe was on the verge of pulling the hair from his feathers. Enrico sat to one side with a nervous expression while Anton was on the other with his wings crossed. "I don't believe what I'm seeing. Carlos can't lose, he just can't!"

The larger macaw continued trying to land hits, each one proving ineffective as Ray continued to avoid blow for blow. Realising this wasn't going to work, Carlos knew he had to switch strategy.

As if a light bulb appeared above his head, Carlos had an idea. Cracking his wings to release tension, he once again swiped his wing. Ray jumped to avoid as expected, but this time, Carlos other wing can slamming towards him. In mid-air, Ray was unable to dodge.

It was a shame it didn't work.

Carlos eyes widened in horror as Ray caught his gigantic wing with both of his own, seemingly with no effort. With a tug of might, Ray pulled Carlos towards him, kneeing his talon into his torso. Still holding his wing, he pulled Carlos down and punched him directly into the head, followed with a barrage of punches all across his body. Carlos was a big bird, but his bulk wasn't even strong enough to withstand the blows. Grasping his feet against the ground, Ray pushed himself up and undercut Carlos, forcing him down onto his back.

Ray positioned himself by Carlos' feet, grabbing one of them to begin dragging him towards the edge of the stage.

Needles to say, Ray was not expecting Carlos to suddenly raise his free talon and grasp Ray tightly. Using his wings to push himself back up, Carlos used one talon for balance while the other was used to restrain Ray by his torso, holding the military macaw tightly.

"He's got him!" Felipe cheered. "Now throw him out, Carlos!"

"Not yet!" Carlos replied, but not out of pride. This time, he was not taking any chances as he begun to put the squeeze on him. "What you gonna do now?"

Despite the obvious fact his wings were restrained, Ray was not at all fazed. Instead, he begun to spread both wings outwards with the little room he had. Carlos raised his eyebrow in confusion, shocked that Ray was beginning to pry himself free. He tried tightening his grip, but it did nothing. "I...I can't hold him!"

Felipe had to practically run wings through his eyes to make sure his vision was playing tricks on him. Slapping his wings against his head, he begun to scream out of desperation. "Throw him out! Throw HIM OUT! NOW!"

Carlos listened and threw Ray as hard as he could muster. Ray was free from his grip, but along the way, he gripped his toes around Carlos leg and used it to stop himself. He landed back on the stage safely. Without anymore hesitation, he struck Carlos directly in his lower stomach, causing the giant to stumble directly towards him. As he fell, Ray caught him in both wings and threw him towards the edge of the stage. Carlos couldn't believe what he was witnessing as he felt the stage disappear from around him. All his life he had resolved to be the strongest, surpassing all of his clan mates with his intense training and incredible size. Yet this military macaw had made all those years worth of training feel like child's play. Heck, it brought a tear to his eye, literally.

"I...Failed..." Carlos mumbled as the ground came closer into view. "I'm sorry..."

Before long, the giant hit the ground with a huge thud, shaking the entire ground beneath him. His will to fight as purely gone, his strength felt like nothing. Standing up to join his team, he took one final look towards the stage. Closing his eyes, he muttered a silent vow. "I will never fight again."

"Contestant Carlos from team scarlet is out!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared.

With small steps, Carlos joined the rest of his team, sitting beside Enrico. The stands had been modified to fit anyone larger than usual. "Felipe...I am sorry...I couldn't beat him...I...I..."

He didn't need to say another word as Felipe patted his back. "Don't blame yourself, Carlos. You did well, I'm proud of you. You represented your clan well."

Ray stepped away from the edge of the stage towards the other side, the closest he could get to Aku without leaving the boundaries. "The warriors I was needed for are gone. It's over."

Aku nodded. "Remit can take care of the rest. You have done well, Ray."

No more words were exchanged between them. Everyone was surprised to see Ray sitting on the ground with his talons crossed and eyes closed, going into some kind of meditation state. This practically left him open to attack, but against who exactly? Who was left to possibly oppose him?

"Contestant Ray has ceased fighting!" Tapir Game Announcer declared. "Brave, but also foolish move."

With Carlos elimination, that only left a total of two members left per team. Meanwhile, Blu watched as his wife was continuing her own fight. He stumbled towards her, still dazed from his fight with Rajesh. His pathway was shortly blocked by the fight between youngsters, forcing him to cease.

AJ had been fighting the military macaw for over ten-minutes now, but it didn't feel like he had made any progress. Remit was stronger and more experienced. AJ would never admit that, however.

In a fit of frustration, AJ threw his fits in rapid speed without considering his own defence. His fists made impact, but it wasn't long until Remit noted this change of style and slammed his fist directly into AJ's face.

AJ stumbled back, holding his wings against his beak. With his guard fully down, Remit did not hesitate to begin his assault, tackling AJ to the ground and pinning down while he unleashed attacks.

"Contestant AJ is pinned down!" Porcupine Game Announcer exclaimed.

"He won't be able to take more punishment at this rate!" Tapir Game Announcer added.

AJ grunted with every strike, trying to use his wings as a barrier to cushion the blows. Remit continued slamming his wings, aiming for the face to inflict the most damage.

Felipe was not pleased to see this, jumping to his feet in anger. "Coward! Get off, he can't even fight back!"

Aku turned towards him with a small grin. "I don't think your young fighter will be lasting much longer."

Remit continued his endless fight, breaking past AJ's pathetic excuse of a defence. He continued striking hard against AJ, relentlessly. AJ could no longer fight back, too weakened. He was hardly conscious, let alone in any condition to fight back.

With one final strike, Remit headbutted AJ. This relentless attack had also left him tired, but not enough that he could no longer fight. He grabbed AJ by his head feathers and forced him to his feet, looking him straight in his half-closed eyes.

"It's over," he muttered, sending chills down AJ's spine.

Remit had his wing raised to deliver the final blow. His wing came close to contact, but he was confused as to why it stopped halfway. Turning, Remit realized someone had grasped his wing halfway. "What the-OMPH!"

Blu's free wing slammed into Remit's face, knocking him to the ground. AJ fell to the ground, landing on his stomach. His face was now swollen and bruised combined with small cuts. He used his wings to brace himself while he coughed up small amounts of blood.

It didn't take long for Blu to almost stumble again, still tired from his fight against Rajesh. He kept himself standing with one wing over his upper torso.

AJ continued coughing until he turned towards Blu. Rather than be met with insults, he expressed great appreciation. "Th-Th...Thank you."

Blu helped him stand, using his free wing as support. AJ in turn did the same while he used his free wing to wipe away any injuries received.

"Contestants Blu and AJ have joined forces to fight a common foe!" Tapir Game Announcer noted. "Teams blue and scarlet once again join forces."

Remit stood his ground, wiping away a small cut that had been inflicted from that last punch. "Clever. You won't catch me off guard like that again."

AJ grunted as he tried to stand under his own strength, but without Blu as support, he could barely stand. "Blu...We can't...Beat him...On...Our own...Need...To work...Together..."

Blu nodded softly. "I know, but you can barely stand, AJ."

"Doesn't...Matter..." AJ replied. "Carlos...Is...Gone...Can't do...This alone."

Remit turned towards his only ally remaining whom was now in a mediating state. He grinned as he made a gesture towards him with one wing. "You see that? Ray no longer considers anyone else worthy to fight him. That means he knows I am more than capable of defeating both of you myself. If I were you, I would jump-"

"Save it," Blu snapped. "I won't be intimidated into jumping out. If you want me off, you're going to have to get your wings dirty!"

Remit merely shrugged. "So be it."

Alberto observed the fight with the rest of his team beside him, beginning to work out who was going to win at this rate. "The blue macaws have quite the fight on their hand. Despite their painful injuries, their will has not been broken. Their chances are slim, I am afraid."

Falconer added. "It appears the scarlet team is not fairing any better. Mariana is holding her own quite well, yet the youngster AJ is too injured to recover in time."

Bee-Bee also included her own input. "The calculations of either team defeating Remit are of little chance. However, if by some miracle they win, it is a matter of time until Ray rejoins the fight."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "But Ray has declared he has no intention of fighting no other fighter he considers unworthy. By defeating Remit, they will in hindsight, defeat team military. Correct?"

"Possible," Tony half-agreed. "Ray would be the only one standing. This would force him to continue fighting, whenever or not he considers anyone worthy of his time."

"Tony may be right," Sonny spoke up. "As of now, we can only observe."

With another strong push, Remit charged towards the duo. Both Blu and AJ had their guards raised, but even their dual teamwork wasn't enough to hold back Remit. He easily knocked the two apart.

AJ got to his feet and stumbled forward, throwing one wing forward that Remit caught before countering with a kick to his torso.

Blu joined in, jabbing Remit once in his face. As he threw another wing forward, Remit caught and countered with a headbutt, knocking Blu back towards the ground. Scrambling to his feet before he was pinned down, Blu tried to tackle him, but was easily thrown aside.

Meanwhile, Jewel avoided mot of Mariana's blows. Receiving an injury to her eye had left her vision impaired, she could not risk anymore chances. For now, she avoided as many blows as she could.

Mariana pushed away her blows, striking hard. As she threw another wing forward, Jewel suddenly caught her wing. She spin around and elbowed Mariana in her lower stomach before throwing her over her shoulder.

"Argh!" Maraian grunted against the ground, giving her an aching back.

Jewel moved back with her wings raised, a small grin forming across her beak. She finally figured out how she could defeat the scarlet macaw.

"You seem happy," Mariana noted as he regained her footing. "Something funny?"

"Nothing at all," Jewel responded confidently. "Is that all you can do?"

Standing yet again, AJ stumbled forward to continue fighting as Remit begun kicking Blu on the ground. He threw a slow but powerful punch that collided against Remit's face, knocking him away.

Remit growled, pure anger beginning to boil within with a mad twitch in his eye. He slammed his talon into AJ's stomach before unleashing a furry of punches, each one knocking AJ backwards. "When will you give up!? When won't you learn?! You won't rest until the very limit of my patience has been pushed!"

With one final punch, AJ collapsed onto the ground, landing firm on his stomach. Finally, he lost consciousness, his fight finally over. Remit stomped on him once to make certain but wasted no time in disposing of him right yet. The blue macaw had intervened one too many times and had to go.

Remit forced Blu back up and lifted him over his head, turning around to face the rest of team blue in the stages. He marched forward towards the end of the stage to address them. "Blue macaws! Did you really believe you stood a chance against our might? Our clan is strength! Our clan is power! Our clan is SUPERIOR! None will stand against us! Do you hear ME!? NONE!"

The other clans faced him with pure anger in their tones. Aku was pleased to see his warrior make shame of their opponents, bringing much satisfaction. Remit was so caught up in his triumph that he failed to see the danger ahead.

Maria was the first to notice this, quickly jumping up. "Remit, behind you!"

As Remit prepared to throw Blu off, he was jolted back by the hidden fighter. AJ restrained Remit in a full nelson, preventing the military macaw from using his wings or running away.

"You wretch!" Remit yelled, rapidly throwing himself to the side to try and throw away his attacker. "I should have finished you first!"

Blu landed on his side, only a foot away from the edge. Quickly, he jumped to his feet, watching as AJ hung onto Remit from his back. The duo were just as close the edge of the stage as Blu was.

AJ could feel his strength faltering, acknowledging he could not hold on forever. He turned his injured face towards Blu, screaming out a loud request. "Knock us off! Do it NOW!"

"So that's what he's doing!" Enrico noted. "AJ wants to take Remit down with him!"

Felipe was just as surprised, but he no longer cared about winning. He just wanted two things: for his team to be safe and to defeat team military. "NOW!"

Blu didn't have enough time to comprehend the situation, but he knew well enough that it was either knock them both off or try to fight Remit and risk losing. With a small nod, he lunged forward with one talon extended.

Remit's eyes widened in horror, swinging left and right to break free. "NOOO!"

Within a matter of seconds, Blu's talon collided with Remit. The force and speed of the impact knocked both macaws backwards before they fell out of the stage. AJ released him halfway, separating them as they collided with the ground, robbing both teams of another member.

"REMIT!" Aku bellowed, a mixture of anger and shock echoed within his foes.

"Contestant AJ and Remit from team scarlet and team military are out!" Tapir Game Announcer declared.

Remit was furious, slamming his wings into the ground that almost caused his wings to bleed. "NO! NO! I shouldn't lose! I shouldn't!"

A small chuckle from nearby broke him from his fit of rage.

AJ had a small smile on his face. "That clan...You called pathetic...Will be more superior to you...Always."

Remit was furious. He wanted to finish AJ off, make the brat pay for costing him. In the corner of his eye, he could see the security watching him closely anyway. Grunting, he stood over the injured macaw, making a small vow. "Next year...Next year I will finish off what we started."

AJ was unfazed and only grinned. "Looking forward to it."

With his vow made, Remit rejoined the rest of his team shortly after. As for AJ, he had to be carried away due to his injuries for care. Upon sitting with his clan, Remit was not surprised to hear a scolding.

"Remit..." Aku addressed his name rather slowly. "I don't understand. How!? You had him in your grasp, you had them beaten! You had the potential to eliminate both of them and the girls as well! You were foolish, you let your guard down! You-"

"Shut up!" Remit snapped, loud enough that he surprised all of his fellow teammates. "You think I'm happy that I lost?! You think I wanted this!? How about you just shut up and appreciate the fact I held out longer than the OTHERS!"

Everyone was certainly surprised to hear someone snap at him like that, much less his own boss. Aku was just was shocked. A small part of him wanted to punish Remit for speaking to him like that, but the lost thing they needed was more attention.

Instead, Aku turned his attention back towards the fight. "Only four remain..."

Jewel avoided each of Mariana's strong blows, only allowing the weakest of blows to hit her. She would strike when any opportunity pass. It was a tough battle, but Mariana was clearly the one suffering. She was panting, exhausted, almost out of energy despite the fact she had hardly received any damage.

Eduardo was practically beaming with excitement. "Armando, are you seeing this!?"

"Way ahead of you," Armando replied. "Jewel's been remaining on the defensive on purpose. She's exploiting Mariana's weakness."

Christine had her own say as well. "I get it! Mariana's style consists of strong blows. She's wasting too much energy to try and take out Jewel early."

Their predictions were correct. Mariana was clearly making the same mistake Simon did a year before: relying on brute strength alone. She panted in exhausted, her punches were going slower by the second.

Alberto noted this change in style as well. "Bee-Bee, did you never notice this strategy?"

"Nope," Bee-Bee shook her head. "Mariana had relied on speed alone to defeat me because she knew she was stronger. Against Jewel, she knows her own speed isn't enough and needed to rely on stronger blows. It's quite impressive."

Jewel continued her tactic for a few more seconds until Mariana had finally tired herself out to the point of no more energy. Now weakened, Jewel unleashed a beat down, rapidly throwing punch after punch with kicks in between. Mariana tried her best to block, but she had no more energy to put up a good defensive. Her flaw had cost her dearly.

"I'm sorry, Mariana," Jewel apologised as she kicked the scarlet macaw backwards.

"Don't be," Mariana replied with a small grin. "You fought well. AJ's out anyway, not like I could have done much more. Don't worry, I'll get the last laugh."

Jewel didn't quite understand, but didn't have time to question as she shoved her backwards. Mariana practically allowed herself to fool, landing gracefully on her feet out of the stage. With her defeat, team scarlet was no more.

"Contestant Mariana from team scarlet is out!" Porcupine Game Announcer declared. "And with her elimination, team scarlet is officially out!"

Mariana returned the stands with pride, sitting beside her brother who thanked her for everything. AJ returned not long after, now well enough to sit with his team, but he was far from recovered.

Felipe took this time to express his gratitude to his fighters. "I'm proud of you all. You've all showed me your determination and skills. For that, I thank you. Nothing wrong with third place."

With her next fighter eliminated, Jewel inspected the area around her. Spotting her love hawk, she jumped over and embraced him immediately. Blu already had the same idea, already was he halfway towards her.

"Are you okay?" Blu inquired as she gently stroked one wingtip over her injury. "Jewel, your eye!"

"It's not as bad as it looks," Jewel reassured with a smile added on top. "How are you feeling?"

"I've had better," Blu replied. Gently, he held her close for what little time they had together. He wished he could stay like this, but there was still one more threat. Leaning from her embrace, he turned towards their final obstacle. "Jewel."

Jewel moved away from his wings, following his direction. She watched a Ray stood only a few feet away, awakened from his meditative state. Now she understood what Mariana meant by "last laugh".

Ray stood firm, his eyes narrowed towards them with a stare filled with determination. "Well done. I did not expect blue macaws to have made it this far. But do not allow your progress to fill you with hope. It ends here."

The final fight in this tournament was upon them. Two blue macaws against one military macaw. Only one team could win, but which team was the real question.

Jewel shifted her attention towards Blu while holding his one wing within both her own. "Blu, I know you're tired and scared. I am too. But we have one chance to win this. Are you with me?"

It was a tough decision to make. With a small nod, Blu raised his free wing to hold her. "We're chained-to-each-other-birds, Jewel. I'll always be with you."

Jewel didn't expect nothing less. Changing her expression to determination, she faced the military macaw with bravery. "Let's finish this."

* * *

 _ **Chapter 8! Only three members remain. It is now down to the blue macaws to defeat one final opponent. Final chapter coming soon.**_

 _ **Time remaining: 3 minutes**_

 _ **Members left:**_

 _ **Team blue macaw: 2**_

 _ **Team scarlet macaw: 0**_

 _ **Team military macaw: 1**_

 _ **Team lear macaw: 0**_

 _ **Team red-bellied macaw: 0**_


	9. Until we meet again!

_**Rio: The Battle Royale Tournament**_

 _ **Write everything.**_

* * *

The blue macaws gathered whatever energy they had remaining and prepared for their final fight. The crowds around them were left on the edges of their seats. Most of them were now cheering for team blue macaw, even those who were originally present for their own clan. Blue, scarlet, lear and red-bellied, all supporting their blue macaw allies. The clan leaders had their own input as well.

"This is it," Eduardo noted, his voice was filled with concern yet calmness. "Only one opponent left."

"It's going to take Blu and Jewel all they have to bring this guy down," Felipe said to his team. "They need to work together."

"They can't do this without the other," Amy admitted.

"Ray is too powerful to be taken down by a lone warrior," Alberto stated. "It is good thing they have each other."

Aku scoffed to all of their comments, crossing his wings and muttering softly. "Show them your strength, Ray. Make a perfect example of those who cross us."

Blu and Jewel shared a quick nod before they jumped towards their opponent. Blu arrived first and threw a single wing forward. Ray calmly sidestepped and slammed Blu away with ease before catching Jewel's kick and countering with his own. His attacks were hard, sharp and relentless.

Blu recovered first and tried again, throwing rapid punches towards the military macaw who blocked them all with only one wing. It wasn't long until Jewel joined in and tried to catch Ray off guard. Ray headbutted Blu forward before slamming the back of his wing against Jewel, knocking her down to the ground.

Both blue macaws hit the grounds, releasing grunts of pain. Not even thirty seconds in and they were already getting tossed around. Jewel, being the stubborn and free-spirited bird she was, stood first.

"I'm not done yet," Jewel taunted, but the pain in her voice clearly told Ray she was bluffing.

Ray merely frowned, crossing his wings. "Blue macaws. Interesting creatures."

Blu gathered himself too and stood beside his wife, a little closer in front in a protective manner. "You okay?"

"Not really," Jewel admitted. "He hits like a Brazil nut. Do you have any ideas? Any tricks up your wing?"

Blu shook his head. "I tried, but I couldn't even time how long it takes him to throw a punch. It was so fast that I couldn't even see it! Cheese 'N' Sprinkles!"

"Are you both done?" Ray questioned impatiently.

Ignoring him, the two once again charged. Changing strategy, Blu attacked from the front first while Jewel planned to attack him from the back once his guard was down. Blu threw a fist that missed as Ray countered with a strong punch. Shortly afterwards, Jewel had clutched onto his back. Resorting to her wild instincts, she bit her beak into the top of Ray's neck.

Blu moved to attack while Ray was distracted, landing two blows into his stomach. Raising one wing, he pushed away Blu's attacks before undercutting him against the beak.

For the first time, Ray had actually showed signs of experiencing damage. He released a small cry of pain, but it wasn't long before he grabbed Jewel and threw her over his shoulder. As she landed, he grasped her throat into his talon, lifting her in the air.

Jewel felt panic rush through her body as her oxygen was cut. She raised both talons and double-kicked him once in the face. Unfazed, Ray responded with a strong punch to her stomach. He proceeded to continue doing so, repeatedly striking her in the torso while she remained defenceless.

"Contestant Jewel is withstanding too much!" Porcupine Game Announcer said as he covered his eyes. "I can't watch!"

"What makes you think I can?!" Tapir Game Announcer agreed, turning towards the coach while doing so. "Coach, can't you do something?!"

The coach looked hesitant, but sadly shook his head. "Unless she is thrown out or forfeits, Contestant Jewel is still in the game."

Eduardo was barely holding himself back, clutching his wings to try and calm himself. "That monster...How dare he!"

Ray ceased his punches, but did not release his hold. He moved her face closer towards him, looking dead into her eyes. "Give up."

Jewel couldn't even explain the amount of fear she was experiencing. The pain, the lack of oxygen and Ray's eyes looking straight into her own. Her body was telling her to throw in the towel, but her wild instincts said otherwise. "Never."

"Hey!"

Ray turned towards the voice, not surprised whom it was.

"Let. My. Wife. Go. Now!" Blu snarled, his voice deepened and a lot more aggressive than usual. It was as if his kind side had completely vanished, replaced by one of anger.

Ray didn't respond. Whenever Blu's words shaken him or not didn't matter as he threw Jewel towards him. Blu had his wings spread and caught her, using himself to cushion her fall. He held her close as she coughed, rubbing one wing over her neck.

"He's...He's...Too strong..." Jewel panted. "Blu...I don't think...I don't..."

"Jewel," Blu said gently. "I want you to be safe, but you told me we were in this together. Whatever happens next, I'll stand by you."

It took a few seconds for Jewel to catch her breath. While she attended towards her torso, she changed her tone and stood confidently. "We can do it. But we can't fight him like this."

Blu nodded in agreement. "I understand. I have an idea on how we can beat him. Listen closely."

The various teams watched as Blu whispered something into Jewel's ear, curious as to what they were discussing. The other teams seemed to be curious while team military remained confident. Before long, Blu and Jewel charged towards Ray and begun throwing rapid punches together. Ray had both wings raised and begun to deflect each of their attacks as expected. No one, however, was expecting Blu to suddenly land a direct punch to Ray's torso. Followed with this was a direct kick from Jewel. Their combined attack caused Ray to stumble back in surprise, their attack broken for the time being.

"Team blue macaw has landed an attack!" Tapir Game Announcer exclaimed.

Porcupine Game Announcer peaked before revealing his eyes. "I don't believe it!"

Aku was shocked that a pair of blue macaws of all species had landed a hit on his strongest fighter. "Impossible!"

Ray calmly brushed off their attacks, resuming his cool composure a few seconds later. Blu and Jewel shared an exchanged look before they charged and progressed their fight against Ray.

Nico jumped in his seat with Pedro following suit. "Hey everyone, what'd say we give them help with samba?!"

"Yeah!" Pedro agreed. "Yoyoyo, get on up and shake your tail feathers! Let's do this!"

Birds spectating exchanged looks with each other before smiling and beginning to tap their talons, creating a beat with their combined efforts. Others used whatever they could find to use as instruments, creating a small guitar solo with drumming as background beats. Before long, the duo and best friends Nico and Pedro begun their solo together a main singers.

 _Fired up and ready to go  
_ _Wired as the new arc unfolds  
_ _Grab onto fate, never let go!_

Together, Blu and Jewel charged towards Ray and continued their endless attacks, refusing to give Ray any room to breathe. Ray remained on the defensive and continued holding his own like before. This time, there was a hidden obstacle. He couldn't find an opening in their attack to exploit. Ray was slightly puzzled, but kept cool and remained on the defensive.

While the various spectators helped with the instruments, the defeated teams watched from the stands in amazement. Team military was absolutely dumbfounded as to how blue macaws were holding their own so well.

"This is amazing!" Felipe said. "They're holding their own so well! How?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Anton spoke up for the first time since his defeat. "Blu and Jewel were fighting together, yet their teamwork is uncoordinated. Ray is trained to fight against any type of warriors, including coordinated teamwork. Their uncoordinated attacks is giving them an advantage. Ray cannot predict where they are going to strike."

Blu and Jewel threw their respective right and left wings forward that Ray caught in both his own. Quickly, they raised their free wings and punched hard in his torso, knocking him a few feet back. Refusing to give him any breathing space, they charged and continued their attacking, making certain not to make their patterns obvious.

 _Deep inside, I know I'ma fight!  
_ _And I' let my powers run right!  
_ _I can't get no satisfaction_

Alberto studied their combined teamwork curiously, watching with careful analysing as they kicked Ray backwards. "Their teamwork. Is incredible. They are mates, yet that they cannot fight in coordination. Is it possible that they may be able to win this fight after all?"

"Their chances to begin with were slim," Tony spoke up. "But now that they have a formation they can work with, it is unknown if their chances have increased. Ray may still be holding back some of his true strength. If not, the blue macaws may just win this tournament after all. With so little time left, will Ray be willing to hold back anymore?"

Ray threw his wing towards Blu and slammed him backwards. As the blue macaw fell back, Jewel struck her wing into his lower torso. Ray moved to backhand her, only to be shoved back by Blu. Together, Blu and Jewel kicked him backwards and proceeded to continue elsewhere. Ray was beginning to grow more and more restless. He threw one wing forward to whack them both back. Blu lunged forward to take the blow on purpose, allowing Jewel to overtake him and headbutt him.

 _(HEY HEY!)_ _There's monotony  
_ _(HEY HEY!)_ _Creeping up on me  
_ _I can't live a normal life  
_ _That's just not me-e-e-e-e-e  
_ _(Let's fly high)_

Amy could hardly contain her excitement over the blue macaw's progress, fighting the urge to jump up and cheer. "This is amazing! I can't believe they turned this entire fight around in such a short time. I knew the blue macaws were trained to fight, but this is a whole different level."

"This whole tournament was about using teamwork," Bruno spoke up, watching the fight with amazement as well. "It's not that their just mates, but they both trust each other. Their bond is allowing them to fight together. Look at Blu. He's taking some of the blows on purpose for Jewel to strike. Ray knows battle tactics, but even he can't expect attacks from uncoordinated teamwork. It's quite impressive."

Blu threw his talon towards Ray's head, forcing him to duck down to avoid. Halfway down, he was punched into the torso by Jewel. Acting quickly, Blu raised his wing and punched Ray directly into the side of his beak. Jewel followed suit and added a punch of her own to Ray's lower side. Both their punches stunned him and forced him to take up a defensive stance. Together, they lunged forward with their talons raised. Ray raised both wings and caught their kicks halfway, spinning a full one-hundred and eighty degrees and releasing his hold. The blue macaws were left spinning away, but recovered before they can be thrown too far out of the stage.

 _(HEY HEY!)_ _So I'm moving on  
_ _(HEY HEY!)_ _Soon I will gone  
_ _I'm unstoppable!  
I'm invincible!  
_ _Let's go-o-o-o-o-o-o_

Aku was practically forcing himself awake, clutching his wings against his head in frustration. "I don't understand! This isn't possible! No one can beat Ray! NO ONE! He's the strongest of us all!"

Maria was sitting beside her leader and was just as surprised. For years, they had all been training together, becoming amongst the strongest of fighters in their clan. She had always been determined to be the strongest, but over time, she had came to accept Ray as the strongest, no matter how hard the others pushed themselves. "Ray shouldn't be getting pushed back like this! Why is this happening? It has to be trick! Ray is just toying with them, right?"

Tup listened to her every word and shook his head. "I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, Maria. Ray hasn't faltered at all, it's their teamwork."

Rajesh raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. "What do you mean by that? Two against one shouldn't even pose a problem to Ray."

Before Tup could explain, Remit had already begun. "Ray is an experienced warrior. We all trained together for as long as we can remember. In his time, Ray has prepared for every possible outcome. That's the problem. The blue macaw's combined teamwork is sloppy, yet they have the advantage. Had they used coordinated teamwork, Ray could have easily countered their attacks. Fighting out of sync is the problem."

To further prove his point, Ray had just slammed his wing into Blu's torso and proceeded to grasp his throat within his talon. Before he could inflict anymore damage, Jewel had intervened by striking her wing into Ray's talon, forcing him to drop his target. He proceeded to grasp Jewel in a headlock, only for her mate to punched him in the torso and free her. Their teamwork allowed them to cover each other when they were in trouble, preventing Ray from gaining any advantage.

 _'Cuz even though the door is locked  
_ _And they're expecting me to knock  
_ _I'll just break_ _(HEY!)  
_ _Through the door_ _(HEY!)  
_ _I'm stronger then I was before!_

Eduardo was beaming with pride, his worries had now turned into one of happiness. He had never been more prouder of his family, especially Blu. In matter of over a year, Blu had gone from a city bird to a strong warrior, completely changing his views on his son-in-law. He had no shame admitting he was wrong. "I'm so proud of them! They've turned this whole fight around! We're going to win after all!"

"She's certainly your daughter," Mimi added with a smile. "Free-spirited and never giving up. She is lucky to have a mate as caring as Blu. It takes a true gentlemen to stand with his loved one, no matter the danger."

"Ju-Ju knows how to pick 'em," Roberto said, earning a small but friendly nudge from Eduardo.

Armando was just as surprised, leaning back with a smirk. "Gotta say, didn't think Blu and Jewel had it in them to hold out as long. Taking a beating like that would throw any other fighter away. They're certainly a match."

Christine was in agreement. "True love can never be broken, no matter how big of the obstacle."

Rafael chuckled slightly towards his close friend. "Blu, you're always full of surprises, amigo."

Jewel punched Ray twice in the stomach, forcing him to try and protect his lower side. This left him open for Blu to attack from above, kicking a talon against Ray's head. Ray backed away, raising both wings in a defensive posture. The many hits he was forced to endure had left him surprised. Not many had been able to stand up to him for so long, even in teams. The closet anyone had got to defeating him was Anton and even then, the bat had just about held his own. A pair of blue macaws had brought him the most trouble he had in a long time. It was not only shocking, but frustrating as well.

 _The time has come for me to rush  
_ _It shouldn't come as a surprise  
_ _That I can't be stopped,  
_ _(HEY!)_ _Just wait and see  
_ _(HEY!)_ _There are no limits binding me  
_ _I persevere through the limit break  
_ _Gods and men alike are blown away_

In almost perfect syn, the various spectators involved in the duo's song ended their dance. The music came to a halt, filling the air around them with cheers instead. The sudden stop in song had not effected the fight below. Whenever or nor their music helped in the first place was unknown, but the fighters obviously showed no intention of stopping.

With another punch, Blu had forced Ray to block, leaving him open on his right side for Jewel to attack. Together, they pushed him backwards before beginning another barrage of punches. Their rapid speed of punches forced Ray backwards, but he had both wings raised and deflected each of their attacks for the time being.

Though his mind was focused on the fighters, Ray felt his life flashing before him. Fighting. All his life he had spent fighting, whenever it be for himself or for others. He had strive to be the best, to become the strongest of them all. Ray had never lost a battle, no matter how strong the opponent. He wasn't about to start now.

"ENOUGH!" Ray had suddenly screamed, his calm composer finally snapping. He threw both wings forward and punched hard into his opponents, knocking them both to the ground.

The blue macaws staggered but didn't let it throw them off. As they charged to attack, Ray raised one wing and slammed his fist directly into the ground. Any other bird would have broken their wing, but in Ray's case, his superior strength smashed a part of the stage, causing small debris of rocks to scatter towards the eliminated teams.

Armando had stood up with his wings spread, protecting Christine from the rocks while the others moved. Bruno did the same for team lear, using his larger size as an advantage. A couple of rocks also headed towards team scarlet. Felipe ducked to avoid the blows while Anton remained seated, calmly raising one wing to catch a single rock that he tossed aside like nothing.

"I don't believe it!" Porcupine Game Announcer exclaimed. "Contestant Ray has finally snapped! Ha, I knew there was more to him than meets the eye."

"It's certainly a surprise!" Tapir Game Announcer agreed.

Aku listened to their comments, leaning back with a small scoff. "Fools. None of them will never understand."

His comment had not gone unnoticed by the other clan leaders, turning towards him with curious eyebrows. Alberto had opened his beak to inquire, but the fight below them had caught his attention first.

Blu was the first to recover, barely standing up as he rubbed one wing over his beak. Ray approached and proceeded to strike him left and right, sacrificing all of his speed for pure strength. Each punch felt like a truck had hit him, creating large amounts of pain that distracted Blu from putting up any defence. With one final punch, he knocked Blu towards the ground. Blu collapsed to his stomach, groaning as the pain sunk in. He used his wings to brace himself up, being stopped halfway as Ray placed his talon against his back, forcing him back down.

Ray continued holding him down before using that same talon to kick Blu away. He stomped forward and grasped Blu by his head feathers, forcing him onto his feet.

"Put him down!" Jewel demanded as she lunged forward towards him, one wing raised.

Ray was one step ahead and deflected her wing, countering with a strong punch to her face that knocked her to the ground. He tossed the injured Blu away, turning his attention back towards Jewel. "Do you really intend to beat me alone?"

"If that what it takes!" Jewel responded.

With a small yell, she lunged forward to attack. As he came close, she fell like bait into his trap when Ray raised his talon and seized her throat once again, lifting her into the air. She raised both talons and kicked him in the face, not enough to deter him. Ray used his other talon to gain momentum into the air before throwing himself back down, slamming Jewel into the ground, hard. She cried out in pain, the impact left her back in anguish.

Hearing her cries of pain, Blu pushed himself back onto his feet and charged from the side. Ray already had his right wing raised, punching Blu across his face. The strong punch left a cut across the side of his face, shredding a couple of feathers that was replaced with a small, red cut. Before he could fall, Ray grabbed Blu from behind in both of his wings and restrained him tightly. He kept one wing tight around Blu's throat while the other was around his torso, preventing him from escaping. Jewel remained pinned against the ground in his talon. With both blue macaws at his mercy, there was no other threat against him.

Blu didn't know what was worse: getting his oxygen blocked, his ribs being crushed or the fact he couldn't help his own loved one. While using one wing to try and pry one of Ray's wings away, he used his other one to backhand the military macaw. Jewel caught his idea and begun punching her wings against his talon. Ray tanked each hit, their attacks did not cause the slightest of difference.

Whatever hope the teams had was beginning to vanish. Eduardo held one wing over his eyes, unsure if he could watch anymore of their torment. "It's over."

Jewel absolutely refused to give up. Due to the position she was in, her feet would not reach Ray to try and claw her way out. She continued punching against his leg, hoping she could cause enough damage too much to endure. Yet it was clear he had no intention of letting go, no matter what they did. Her throat was cutting off, loosing her breath fast as she could feel her life begin to slip away. Blu wasn't exactly in a better position either.

What happened next surprised everyone. Ray had suddenly released his hold on Blu, ever so slightly shoving him forward. Simultaneously, he released his talon from around Jewel and stepped back, crossing his wings patiently.

Aku's eyes practically jumped out of his eyes. "NO! Ray, why did you do that?! You had them!"

Ray did not respond, remaining calm before his enemies. Blu attended to Jewel first, pulling her away to safety. The needed a small bit of time to catch their breath. Fortune was indeed on their side for now.

"He let us go," Blu noted between coughs.

"Why?" Jewel questioned, at first to herself, but now she spoke loud. "Why?! Why did you let us go!?"

Ray slowly uncrossed his wings, narrowing his eyes towards them with a frown. "Do not take my act for one of mercy. If I'm going to beat you, I will do so by throwing you out of the ring."

Husband and wife were certainly surprised, exchanging confused looks between the other. It dawned on them that they had been given a second chance, one that they did not intend to waste. With so little time left, they took up defensive stances for another fight.

"Same as before?" Blu asked.

Jewel nodded. "Together."

Leaping, they charged and begun their barrage of punches. In horror, they were not expecting Ray to catch both of their wings, throwing them to the sides quickly. Assuming it was a mere fluke, the blue macaws charged yet again, Blu from behind while Jewel attacked from the front. They begun to attack, only to miss every punch they were throwing. Ray was blocking their attacks, refusing to let them land anymore hits. Catching both of their fists, he responded by headbutting Blu to the ground and then spin kicking Jewel, knocking them both away.

The lovebirds quickly regrouped, panting with exhaustion. Their uncoordinated attacks were no longer working, no matter how in sync they worked.

"I don't get it," Blu said between pants. "Are you sure you're attacking right?"

"Hey, if anyone's out if sync, it's your clumsy butt," Jewel replied rather defensively, nudging him slightly. "I followed your every step."

Blu's eyebrows raised. "Then what are we doing wrong?"

Their response was cut short a Ray charged towards them. With no way of attacking, both macaws raised their wings to block the attack. Ray landed a direct punch into Jewel's already injured eye, knocking her to the ground as she released a shriek of agony. Followed by this, Ray raised his wing and inflicted his must powerful punch yet against Blu. Everyone watch as their blue macaw friend landed on his back, his eyes closing upon hitting the ground.

"Contestant Blu is down!" Tapir Game Announcer gasped. "Out cold, by the looks of it!"

"But until he's thrown out of the ring, he's still in the game!" Porcupine Game Announcer added. "Unfortunately, Contestant Jewel is now left to right alone!"

Said blue macaw stood her ground, raising her wings while her injured eye twitched. She was clearly loosing herself, barely keeping on her feet.

Ray observed her determination. "Even alone, you continue to fight. Brave."

"I don't want your praise!" Jewel snapped. "And I don't care how much strong you are! I've dealt with more pain then you couldn't even begin to imagine! You're just a heartless brute who take pleasure hurting others! You don't know what it's like to fight for something other than pride!"

Her words had appeared to touch a small nerve in Ray as he uncrossed his wings, now looking more angry than before. "You know me so well, don't you? Pathetic girl."

From the stands above them, Alberto had shifted his attention back towards team military macaw, returning to one of their previous topics. "Aku. You said none of us will never understand. What did you mean by that?"

His question had not gone unnoticed by the other clan leaders, all of them just as interested. Aku felt all eyes dawn on him as he sighed. "Maybe you are all entitled to an explanation. You all take Ray for a mindless fighter who only fights to hurt others. You would be wrong. Ray was only a child when it happened."

Felipe raised his eyebrow. "What happened?"

Aku inhaled his breath. "As a child, Ray was forced to witness the taking of his family. Poachers kidnapped his parent, taking them away to never have been seen again. No matter where he looked, they were never found again. From that day, Ray swore he would never lose another friend. Those same poachers returned years later. When the time came, no one would stand with Ray against those who hurt them. More loved ones were taken. From that day, Ray realized there was no such thing as loyalty. He traded allies for strength, pushing himself to the very limits of his power and refusing to care for another soul. Our clan hail him as their hero. Ray is neither hero nor enemy. He simply strives to become the strongest."

The other clan leaders were certainly surprised. While that did not excuse his actions, their views on him had certainly changed. Eduardo was the most surprised. The military clan had been known for their aggressive nature, but never did they suspect their actions were not without reason.

Maria turned towards Aku with her beak opened in surprise. "You mean...Ray never cared about us?"

Rajesh was just as surprised. "But...We've worked together for so long, trained with him."

Remit nodded in agreement. "You trying to tell us he never cared about working in a team? Only using us for his own agenda?"

Tup crossed his wings. "It can't be true! Aku, tell us that isn't true!"

Aku did not make eye-contact, but answered honestly. "It is. Ray never cared about winning this tournament for his clan. He simply did this to test his own strength."

Ray had been listening to every word, turning towards his leader with a stern look. "That's enough out of you, Aku. You've spoke too much."

Aku held his breath, refusing to say another word. As strong as he was, his strength didn't even compare to Rays.

Without another word, Ray lunged forward and slammed his talon into Jewel's stomach before raising both wings and slammed them against her back. She landed flat down on her stomach, wincing from the blows.

Her mate remained unconscious nearby, leaving her to fight alone. By fight, that was just another word for "surviving". Blu was completely out of the fight, in a world of his own. Though unconscious, familiar faces were beginning to echo through his mind, encouraging him to wake up.

"Get up, Blu!"

 _...Eduardo..._

"You can't give up!"

 _...Roberto..._

"Find the rhythm in your heart, amigo!"

 _...Rafael..._

"You can't let him win!"

 _...Armando..._

"You can do it! Just a little bit longer!"

 _...Christine..._

"Your fight is not over yet."

 _...Anton..._

"You have to keep fighting! You can't let some no-good military macaw win!"

 _...Felipe..._

"Get up, Dad!"

 _...Carla...Tiago...Bia_

"I need you! Blu! Blu!"

 _...Jewel...Jewel...Jewel!_

Blu's eyes snapped open, greeted with uproars of pleading from around him. He jumped to his feet, mustering what little strength he had left. Watching in anger as his wife was beaten away, he moved forward and pulled Jewel into his wings, spinning around and taking a blow that was meant for Jewel directly into his back. Blu did not let her go as they rolled across the ground, stopping only a few feet away from the edge of the ring.

Taking her wing, Blu supported her as they both barely stood to their feet. "Jewel, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let you fought him alone."

"Don't blame yourself, Blu," Jewel reassured with a smile. "You stood with me, and I love you for that. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

"You're my one and only, Jewel," Blu replied as they shared quick hug. Supported in the other's wings, they turned to see Ray marching towards them. At the edge of the ring with no more energy to continue, their fight was over.

"I can't keep going," Jewel admitted. "I may be a wild one, but...I know when I'm beat."

"I don't have much more in myself either," Blu agreed with a small smile. "Jewel, I'm with you."

The lovebirds accepted their defeat as Ray closed in on them, pressing his talons against the ground with one wing raised. Grunting slightly, Ray lunged forward one final time with the intention of taking them out with one shot. Blu and Jewel braced themselves for impact as they closed their eyes. No matter what happened next, they could happily say they gave it their all. Their fight was over...

"Time is up!"

Blu and Jewel's eyes snapped open as Ray came to a screeching halt. The coach's sudden announcement had sunk deep into their mind. Though intentionally puzzled, that's when it dawned on them this tournament had a time limit.

Porcupine Game Announcer jumped in excitement, dancing to the sides. "Team blue macaw are the winners!"

Eduardo couldn't believe his eyes, jumping from the stands into the ring. "YES! WE DID IT!"

Aku slammed his wing into one of the bench seats. "NO!"

The entire arena was erupted with cheers as many stood to cheer. The remaining members of team blue macaw jumped into the arena to celebrate their victory, shortly afterwards, the other teams joined them as well. Aku was preparing to leave, but froze as the other members of his team moved to jump in.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Aku demanded.

"If we're going to leave, at least end on a high note," Remit responded.

Aku didn't get another say in the matter as his team left him. Refusing to participate, he remained where he was seated in an empty stand.

Ray inspected the crowd beginning to surround them, no doubt here to congratulate team blue macaw. He turned towards the lovebirds, his expression not at all changed. "Well played, blue macaws...You are indeed worthy."

Blu and Jewel did not respond to his comment. Ray had already turned and marched away, disappearing in a matter of seconds. The various teams surrounded them, offering praise for their victory. The clan leaders Alberto, Amy and Felipe praised them first.

"Excellent victory. Our calculations may have been lesser than we thought."

"You two were amazing! Your love kept you strong!"

"Nice job, guys!"

Eduardo embraced both of them close, being extra careful not to hurt them. "I'm so proud of you both. Your victory today will never be forgotten."

Carla, Bia and Tiago joined them a few seconds later, embracing their parents closely. In the comfort of all of their children, the pain they had experienced was replaced by one of comfort. Their reunion was soon cut short as the other members of team military approached them with stern looks, leaving them to stare towards the other in tension.

Maria stepped forward first, slowly raising her talon towards Jewel. Her stern expression changed to one of a small smile. "Well played."

Jewel was indeed surprised, but accepted her talon shake. Tup, Rajesh and Remit shared similar praise as well.

"Sorry about the face," Remit apologised to AJ.

"It doesn't matter," AJ assured with a grin, nudging one wing against him. "As you said: I'll see you next year."

Remit grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Why don't we get you both fixed up?" Mimi offered, already carrying a few of her things to help treat their wounds.

"That would be great, Aunt Mimi," Jewel nodded as her aunt handed her a small cucumber over her eye to help with the swelling.

"And if you both recover soon, we can host a party in celebration," Felipe offered, his side of the jungle had more room for celebrations when it came to more than one clan.

Blu accepted a leaf from Mimi to hold against his cut as he shifted his attention towards his friends. "You guys coming, too?"

"I'm in," Armando nodded as he turned towards Christine. "That's if I can bring a plus one."

Christine smiled and leaned on her toes to kiss the taller macaw on the side of his beak. "Happily."

"Then it's settled!" Felipe spoke up. "Let the party begin!"

* * *

A full day passed since the battle royale concluded. Needless to say, it went better than expected. News of the tournament had been spread all across the amazon. Other bird clans had even expressed interest entering next year's tournament, provided it was another battle royale. Heck, others had even suggest extending the amount of fighters from five to ten per team. Either way, there was a full year to worry about that yet.

For now, it was time for celebrations.

With the help of their former enemy's, the blue macaws had successfully established a party in a nice part of the amazon that was big enough for hundreds to join. Maybe even a thousand if they were pushing it. Various blue and scarlet macaws chatted amongst themselves while the main event begun. In the past, they never would have spoken to each other so civilised, let alone be in the same presence. Now, they were speaking like old friends.

It wasn't long before Blu and Jewel arrived with their family. A full day's rest had healed most of their injuries. Blu's cut on his face was almost completely healed while Jewel's eye only had a small amount of swelling left, almost unnoticeable.

"There you are!" Eduardo greeted excitedly, embracing his children closely. "Thought you wouldn't make it!"

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world, Dad," Jewel replied smiling.

Blu noted his father-in-law's enthusiastic attitude. "You're in a good mood, sir."

"Why wouldn't I be? This is the biggest celebration we had since we defeated those loggers! And it's all thanks to you, Blu. None of this would be possible without you," Eduardo explained. "And Blu, call me Eduardo."

Blu was certainly surprised, but raised a smile instead. He had finally earned his father-in-law's full respect after over a year. "Thank you."

"Starting the party without us?!"

The family of blue macaws turned, greeted with the other clan leaders and their teams.

"You made it!" Felipe greeted.

Alberto, the one who had called out, spoke up first. "It would have been rude to deny an invitation to such a glamorous event. A pity team military couldn't have shared the same mutuality."

"We did offer them an invitation," Amy added. "They were interested, but Aku didn't seem inclined to show his face."

"Shocking," Armando noted sarcastically. All the while, he leaned forward and took Christine's wings. "Now if I may steal one of your own for a while."

Christine only giggled as she was escorted away towards the dance floor. Who would have thought this tournament would introduce love?

Blu and AJ shared a quick talon shake before the former leaned over Felipe's shoulder, noting a missing member. "Is Anton not here?"

Felipe nodded his head to the side. "He's not exactly a social bird, don't take it personally."

The bat was standing by a tree, eyes closed with his wings crossed. None one knew if he was taking no interest in the party around him, in deep through or simply resting. Either way, no one bothered him and allowed him to be alone.

"Enough talk, it's party time!" Nico exclaimed as he and Pedro carried a large bottle filled with soda. "We got drinks!"

"Good, I'm thirsty," Ernesto said and held up a small cup made from their own creativity.

The duo set the bottle down and had more difficulty opening the bottle cap than they had predicted. It wasn't long before Carlos approached and calmly opened it with ease.

"Thanks big guy," Pedro thanked.

It was not long before Blu and Jewel entered the dance floor with the other members of their clan. In the middle of blue and red dancing around them, they took wings and begun to waltz. Their steps were in perfect sync with the other, almost as if they were dancing between mirrors.

Blu smiled. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?"

Jewel raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"We had our first dance in the amazon in this exact spot," Blu reminded.

Jewel's eyes widened slightly. "It was that long ago? Wow, it feels like only yesterday. Remember back in the old days? Me, you, chained to each other? An American and a Brazilian birds, last of our kind?"

"Always," Blu replied. "I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

The night progress well as celebrations were cheered. The night was perfect; loved ones dancing, friends chatting and friendly competitions between other clan members. If this night turned out great, everyone was certainly eager to see next year's tournament.

The best friends Nico and Pedro appeared out of sight, facing towards the screen.

"Hey blue sky studios, when ya'll gonna make Rio 3?" Pedro questioned curiously.

Nico nudged him. "Don't break fourth wall! Sorry guys."

Together, they raised both wings and waved farewell. "Adeus amigos! Until we meet again!"

Until we meet again...

* * *

 _ **The end! Thank you for all joining me for this story. By doing both a normal tournament and a battle royale, I'm not sure what I'll do next. Who knows, I guess time will tell. Thanks once again. And credits to pellekofficial for the song. Check out his YouTube sometime.**_

 _ **As a little bonus, here is a list of how many eliminations took place by each member.**_

 _ **Team blue**_

 _ **Blu: 4 (Falconer, Rajesh, AJ, Remit)**_

 _ **Jewel: 2 (Maria, Mariana)**_

 _ **Armando: 2 (Ernesto, Tony)**_

 _ **Rafael: 2 (Enrico, himself)**_

 _ **Roberto: 0**_

 _ **Team scarlet**_

 _ **Anton: 3 (Brian, Skipper, Tup)**_

 _ **Carlos: 0**_

 _ **AJ: 1 (Roberto)**_

 _ **Enrico: 0**_

 _ **Mariana: 1 (Bee-Bee)**_

 _ **Team military**_

 _ **Ray: 4 (Bruno, Armando, Anton, Carlos)**_

 _ **Maria: 0**_

 _ **Tup: 0**_

 _ **Remit: 0**_

 _ **Rajesh: 0**_

 _ **Team lear**_

 _ **Bruno: 0**_

 _ **Ernesto: 0**_

 _ **Skipper: 0**_

 _ **Sophia: 0**_

 _ **Christine: 1 (herself)**_

 _ **Team red-bellied**_

 _ **Falconer: 0**_

 _ **Brian: 0**_

 _ **Tony: 0**_

 _ **Bee-Bee: 1 (Sophia)**_

 _ **Sonny: 0**_


End file.
